Garfield’s Golden Heart
by James Kev
Summary: Beast Boy’s inner beast threatens to resurface after so many years. When it starts to impact his personal health, mainly his heart, it’s up to Raven and the rest of the Teen Titans to help him through this ordeal and find a possible cure, if there is any. CHAPTER 13 UPDATED
1. Chapter 1 - Only the Beginning

**COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER**

 **I DO NOT own the TEEN TITANS! All rights to the characters belong to DC and CARTOON NETWORK.**

(START)

 **Chapter 1**

Jump City was unusually peaceful in the two years that passed since their protectors, the Teen Titans, defeated the Brotherhood of Evil, especially during the night hours where all the buildings would glitter their little lights that reflected off the dormant body of water surrounding their T-shaped landmark.

The Titan's Tower stood regally after all this time, its original five founders refusing to let complacency stop them from maintaining vigilance for any threats that did surface occasionally, but they were mainly just _Monster-of-the-Week_ occurences; it's been forever since a _Big Bad_ Villain reared his or her ugly head to cause some real trouble.

Other than that, the place never felt so much safer. What else was there left to do?

(SCENE BREAK)

Inside a peculiar room, dressed in silked curtains, riddled with books and decorated with ancient magical artifacts, an empath shot up on her bed, glistening with sweat and breathing hoarsely.

Rubbing the moist off her face, she straightened herself and crossed her legs to take in a deep breath so she can calm her pacing heart.

" _Azarath Metrion Zinthos."_ She murmured, over and over again until she was stable once more.

Raven immediately checked her bedside clock and groaned to see that it was only _two_ in the morning.

" _Great_..."

While she had calmed herself, her mind wouldn't let her go back to sleep; it was all thanks to this bizarre dream that she could hardly even remember. Nonetheless, she concentrated hard enough to dig out the images she could find to try and piece those clues together.

 _Water along a muddy river, ripples swirling around rocks like serpents..._

 _Trees, vines and foliage entangled together under the gleaming sun rays, inhabited by cold-blooded reptillian wildlife..._

 _Two adults, an man and a woman whom she had no familiarity with, marked with fresh cuts all over their bodies, painting them crimson red beyond recognition..._

 _And finally..._

 _The hulking form of a werebeast glowering over the corpses with eyes that are as deathly as its pearly white fangs and sword-like claws sparkling the same ruby under the moonlight._

She wondered why of all times she dreamed of this _now_. The beast form, she could understand since it took her back to that incident with Beast Boy and Adonis, but those people in the jungle... that part didn't make sense.

Then again... when did dreams _ever_ make sense?

Shaking it off as a nightly nuisance, Raven got out of bed and made for the common room to make some herbal tea, careful not wake anyone in the corridors.

As she faced the large window overlooking the shore, her thoughts wandered over to the green changeling, and everything they've been through with the team — this was happening rather _frequently_ , in fact, and it made her unsure of how to deal with it.

Not wanting to bother with that situation or anything that required use of her brain muscles this late, she finished her tea and turned her sights to the rooftop.

(SCENE BREAK)

When she straight-up phased to the top floor, she immediately sensed that she wasn't alone. Looking to the edge, she found Beast Boy himself sitting there, facing the luminescent starfield.

"Couldn't sleep either?" he called out without having to face the sorceress.

Raven moaned as a response. Folding her arms, she went over to sit down next to him with her legs tucked in.

Being this close to each other, they were both reminded of how much had changed _physically_.

With a sideglance, Beast Boy took in Raven's beautiful features. She had allowed her indigo hair to grow to its full length, as evidenced by the way it danced to the gentle breeze. As well as that, she now preferred to wear all white as opposed to black, much like the form she took when she defeated her father, Trigon.

But her most notable feature wasn't her calm face that matured to look more womanly, but her modest smile that gave her a more approachable vibe.

When Raven took her turn to glance her her teammate, he quickly averted his eyes back in front, but not before she caught him and smirked.

Beast Boy's changes were more drastic. Firstly, he was a couple of inches taller now, which didn't seem much at first without mentioning the fact that he managed to finally surpass her in height. His shoulers were broader, which gave the rest of his lean body that V-shape. He also ditched his old Doom Patrol outfit for a white-red striped getup with his sleeves cropped to display the definition of his arms.

Most importantly, his face had lengthened somewhat to take on a more mature appearance, along with his hair that he now slicked back to resemble a lion's mane, having also decided to let it grow out a bit. The only two featured he retained here his pointy elven ears and the single fang that portruded upward from the left side of his mouth.

The male Titan decided to clear the silence. "You okay, Rae?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Just because we're getting along now doesn't give you the privilege of calling me _Rae_."

He could only throw up his hands in response. "Okay, chill." The sorceress softened, giving the changeling the opening to face her. "Seriously, though... are you alright?"

"I'm fine." she said bluntly, "Just couldn't pass the time with sleep."

"Oh, so you came to see _me_?" Beast Boy bounced an eyebrow, which earned him an eyeroll.

"Don't flatter yourself, _Garfield_."

Raven couldn't resist using his real name to embarass him, and it worked enough to make him back off.

Still, she had to wonder why _he_ was up here? Her empathetic powers were able to pick up signals of uncertainty and... _fear,_ which were all ringing from him.

It was only when he started rubbing circles over his chest, as if there was discomfort in that area, that she questioned him. "What are _you_ doing up here?"

Expecting a half-assed excuse, she is surprised to hear an honest reply from him. "Nightmares..."

 _Him too?_

"Was it about the tofu invasion again?"

He shook, his expression darkening. "It was about home, back in Africa." He cleared his throat and inhaled. "I saw my parents again..."

Raven was already sensing more to this, and she wanted to dig deeper.

"Your parents?"

"I was with them again, but..." He shuddered. "They were _dead_." His face hung from the sky.

A while back, Beast Boy opened up to everyone about the boating accident that orphaned him, and this was long before he found the Doom Patrol. Needless to say, it touched them all deeply, and as well as that, it seemed to have strengthened their bond that much more as it gave everyone a deeper understanding of where their green friend came from.

"Was it about the accident again?"

Beast Boy tensed harder, his fingers still digging for his heart. "N—No... it wasn't." His voice began to falter. "It was something else."

Raven glimpsed back into her own dream and connected a dot. "Was it the _beast_?"

After a minute of hesitation, he only nodded while looking further away from the girl. "I saw it... standing over their bodies... with blood _everywhere_."

This confirmed it; the dream she had might not have actually been hers at all, but _why_?

"Are you afraid of losing control again?"

"No." He shook and took his hand off his chest to wipe his face. "That's not it." There was even a sniffle.

"You can tell me." Raven assured without sounding like she was trying to prod him.

When Beast Boy returned his gaze to her, his eyes got that extra sheen under the moonlight — he was holding back tears.

"Thanks, Raven." He gave her his trademark warm smile. "Just give me some time, first."

A little disappointed by this result, she nonetheless nodded in respect. She had to admire his developed maturity, despite retaining some of his boyish quirks.

(SCENE BREAK)

Beast Boy took a trip to the bathroom to do his usual business before he went in front of the mirror to linger there for a while.

He hunched over the sink, both hands on the ceramic holding his weight up, squinting hard to banish those foul memories into oblivion.

"Dude, why did I have to dream of _that_ again?" He lifted his head to view his reflection through the steam — his cheeks sagging, which he assumed was from lack of sleep.

But when the light above him flickered, something he saw right in that split-second threw him against the wall behind him.

"No!" He cried.

What he saw in that moment of darkness was the same grizzly face of that beast baring its teeth at him... the same one in his dream that stood over the mutilated bodies of his parents.

"No, no, no, no, no!" He grasped his scalp. "You're not here!"

There was low monstrous chuckle that came from everywhere at once.

"Get out!" He groaned, his teeth chattering. "Stay away from me!"

A sharp trio of knocks jolted the Titan back, and the laughter faded.

"Yo, B!" It was Cyborg voice. "You okay in there? I heard some yelling."

Beast Boy took only a second to conjure his best excuse. "Yeah, I'm okay, Cy! I was just c—constipated!"

He smirked when he heard a shudder of disgust from the other end of the door, which meant that it worked.

Regining some semblance of composure, the changeling marched past the puzzled cybernetic Titan back to his room to hopefully get more shut-eye.

This, however, was only the beginning...

(TO BE CONTINUED)

 **Author's Note: Hello, dear readers! Yes, I am back this time to write a story around one of my favorite cartoon shows of all time, centering mainly on my favorite two characters. There will be action in the next issue, and there could even be blood! You want to find out? Stay tuned! Feel free to leave a review or question, and I shall answer them in the next entry, depending on what they are. Cheers!**


	2. Chapter 2 - The Berserker

**Chapter 2**

The following morning, everyone's sleep was disturbed by a red alert that buzzed through the whole building.

The five members all rushed to the living room, Beast Boy being the last to enter as he grouped with the rest of his team with a deep yawn — although he had collected more sleep, it wasn't enough.

"Titans, trouble!" Bellowed Robin, whom was already standing in front of their big screen displaying the world map.

Their leader now donned a black tighsuit with a blue emblem of a robin covering his chest and back; this gave him a more authoritative presence. Despite this new look that was supposed to embody a new persona, he was still _Robin_ as far as the others were concerned.

The red blinker soon enought pointed them to a region in Africa, deep in one of its jungles. A heads up display then projected to show villagers fleeing in terror from an unknown threat.

"Something's attacking these people, and we have to stop whatever it is."

"Well, it's about time." Cyborg chimed in with a confident smirk. "I've been waiting all day to blow off some steam."

That was when Starfire finally spoke. "My only wish is for all of us to make it back safely." Turning to their leader, and her _now-boyfriend_ , she nudged him affectionately, to which he returned a mild blush.

The natural progress of maturity especially did its justice to the Tamaranian girl; out of all of the Teen Titans, no longer did she have the physique of a teenage superhero, but rather now, a full-grown amazonian... especially the areas where no man should dare to look for too long.

Shrugging off his little embarassment, Robin gave the greenlight. "Let's go, team!"

(SCENE BREAK)

"Yo, B!"

Beast Boy jumped in his seat like a student caught sleeping in class and flung his head left and right before he recollected that they were all in the T-Plane jetting towards their destination while high above the clouds.

"W—What?" He responded idly to Cyborg. "Could you repeat that again, Cy?"

His teamate sighed. "I was asking you if you're alright!"

"What? Of course I am!" He forced a giggle. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you're unusually quiet today. Shouldn't you be buzzed about coming back to your old turf?"

When Beast Boy cringed to that question, Starfire decided to chime in. "Perhaps our friend is still just waking up. Is something the matter?"

"Guys, trust me! I'm totally cool!"

Raven understood more so than the others that he wanted to avoid the topic as it would delve into touchier stuff.

Robin had to interject at this point. "Guys, can we please save this for later? We have a job to do."

"He's right." She agreed loudly, hoping this would get those two to lay off him.

Thankfully, the realization hit Cyborg like a train, causing him to feel some guilt. "Oh... right. Man, I'm sorry."

"It's cool, guys." Beast Boy assured. "I'm glad you care though."

"There is nothing to assure us otherwise." Starfire concluded.

(SCENE BREAK)

In the village, now ravaged and set aflame, a monstrous entity prowled through the black smoke, its gigantic bladed paws reducing every piece of rubble in its path to nothing.

Nothing else of its features could be identified, apart from the numerous rows of teeth that should have belonged to a shark, and the ooze trailing down its elongated tongue.

Despite terrorizing countless herds of prey, its carnivorous thirst had yet to be satiated — for once, it desired a _challenge_.

Its wish was granted when out of nowhere, an R-labelled flash bomb flew its way. It leaped away from its blast radius before it could detonate, and then wheeled its head to the source.

There were the Titans huddled in their combat-ready stance, Robin with his bird-a-rang, Cyborg arming his upgraded plasma cannon, Starfire and Raven floating closely above, and finally, Beast Boy crouched like a predator ready to strike.

When the thick darkness of the smoke parted, the heroes were given their first real view of this creature.

It had the build of a silverback ape on steroids, its bulking arms and legs tensed, its veins thick as roots found in soil. Fur, on the other hand, was non-existent anywhere; covering most of its body, especially its back, were scales portruding to resemble a reptilian hybrid. Its head, however, took after a dragon's with its long snout and devilish antlers.

"What is that thing?" Cyborg was awestruck. "Some kind of _berserker_?"

"We'll go with that." Raven answered.

When it roared out to its attackers, the sound it made was like a mix of the shrilling of train wheel braking against the rails, the hiss of a rabid viper and the ferocity of an alpha lion.

At last, Robin shouted his famous order. "Titans, go!"

And so, they engaged the berserker. Robin and Cyborg charged first, the former tossing more flash bombs as to distract it so that his mechanical teammate can fire a few blasts from his plasma cannon.

The women of the team took to the air to fire bombard the creature with their projectiles, Starfire with her green starbolts, and Raven with her gleaming white spells; ever since she mastered her emotions, no longer did she conjure the dark aura that dominated her powers.

But Beast Boy... he had to hang back for a little bit to once again hold the swelling pain in his chest before forcing it aside to join the battle.

Thinking fast, he kicked off his part by transforming into a cheetah to ignite enough speed towards the berserker, which was at the moment too occupied with the other two guys.

When Cyborg and Robin noticed the green feline dashing their way, they dodged out of his way on instinct, giving him a clear shot to then morph into a rhinocerous and ram the monster; the momentum built from his previous transformation pummeled the berserker a few yards over the waste it made.

Already low on stamina, the green Titan reverted to his human form and stood, panting like a mutt, while the others made their way to him.

Robin, still on his guard, was first to give his praise. "That was pretty creative, I gotta say. How are you holding up?"

Before Beast Boy could get a word in, Starfire zipped right in front of him, also greatly concerned. "You do not seem alright, friend. Raven and I saw you—."

The changeling peered over his friends to see the berserker barreling towards, its unnatural speed giving him mere seconds to warn them.

"WATCH OUT!"

But it was too late. With its antlers and mass, all five of the members were knocked into the air like bowling pins.

Raven managed to recover and attempted to summon her mantra. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" A white spiritual ray fired out of her hands at the monster, forcing it to take evasive action on the ground — it was _fast_ , zigzagging left and right to avoid her; the enchantress herself had to watch out to avoid getting grabbed.

In the meantime, Beast Boy had to push his strength just to get back up once he recovered, and there he saw, sprawled about on the ground unconscious, were Robin, Cyborg and Starfire.

"Guys!" He yelled, but none of them were responsive.

The creaking sound of bark being ripped from its stump brought his attention back to the berserker; it had torn a tree out from its root to try and swat Raven down, its swings barely missing her and becoming more frantic as she dodged them.

Ultimately, it struck its target, and she slammed to the ground, almost winding her pipes. She bounced back quick enough to cast a shield as the creature then tried to mash her with that same broken tree repeatedly.

"RAVEN!!"

She couldn't hold it much longer, for when the berserker broke through her shield soon enough, the shock stunned the empath, leaving her dazed and unable to rejuvenate any more defenses, leaving her wide open.

Before the scaly monster could deliver its final blow, Beast Boy changed into a gorilla and leaped onto its back to wrestle it away in a chokehold.

The berserker thrashed like a raging bull to try and throw him off, but the ape refused to let go, even when he took a round of backfists, some gnarly elbows to his sides and a gash to the face from its claws.

But in a matter of seconds, the berserker managed to grab its attacker and threw him down in front where it then tried to crush his head under its heel. The Titan was luckily fast enough to transform into a smaller critter, a snake, and slip away.

Raven recovered shortly to see that same monster now cashing around a green cheetah again, and it was already gaining on him.

Wasting no time, she caught up with those two, again repeating her mantra to cast a white band around the berserker, and then snatched her teammate off the ground.

"Thanks, Raven." He said, panting.

"I'm taking you out of here!"

"What!?" His relief busted like a balloon. "Why!?"

Raven narrowed her eyes to him. "Firstly, you don't seem well enough to fight; your stamina bothers me. Secondly, your head doesn't seem to be in the game at all."

Now Beast Boy started getting annoyed. "I can fight, Raven! You can't take that creature on your own. I mean, look what it did to our friends!"

"All the more reason you need to sit in the sidelines!"

But while they were too distracted by their argument, the berserker broke free of its restraint, picked up the same chunk of bark again and this time chucked it towards Raven — her back was turned, but even when she did turn to see the object coming at her, her hands were too full to do anything, so the wood struck her, and she plummeted to the ground, Beast Boy slipping loose from her hands as he too landed hard.

With them downed as well, the hulking monster let its tongue hang down from its teeth, almost like it was grinning, as it began its steady prowl toward them, its eyes locked mostly on cloaked Titan.

"Raven, wake up!" Beast Boy crawled over to shake her awake, but now like the rest, she was unfortunately down for the count. "It's coming towards us!"

As soon as he realized he was on his own, he scrambled to his feet, making sure to stand between her and this impossibly powerful creature, he charged head-on as a triceratops, his heavy feet quaking the earth.

The creature, however, was ready this time — once those dinosaur horns were within reach, it grasped them tightly, stopping him like a vehicle collision, and refused to let go as he tried changing into other bigger animals to break free, shuch as an elephant.

Before he had the chance to turn into a whale, the berserker threw him onto his back, mounted him as he morphed back into an ape and procceeded to inject all its tens claws into his abdomen — the pained shriek spilled out just as forcefully as the blood was drawn.

Beast Boy finally went limp, but didn't fall unconscious, as the berserker snarled down at him before it got off and kicked him away to his other friends, whom were _still_ laid out.

Through the searing of his ribs that took the impact, the changeling squinted an eye open to see, much to his horror, that the berserker now had its sights on Raven.

"N—No!" He tried to move, tried to get up, tried to transform, but his injuried prevented him from doing so. As the berserker drew closer and closer towards the empath, he grew more and more desperate. "Leave... her... alone!"

But it was useless — _he_ was useless. He could barely lift a finger, and his other teammates were still out cold. He grunted out of frustration, for he was rendered utterly powerless to protect her.

Right then, it was here that he felt another presence daring to rear its ugly head — it clawed from under his skin, wanting to get out... _no_... to _break free._

He didn't fight it this time — he couldn't if he tried. At this point, he wanted a miracle.

When the berserker finally made its way to Raven, he watched with untamed fury as its turned her over and licked her face grotesquely to taste her.

That was it. "GET AWAY FROM HER!!"

And so...

Before he could even register it, the rage took over as it hardened his muscles. He felt his body sprout hair all over as it grew to an enormous height, his clothes tearing, and then his mind gave in to pure animalistic instinct.

Just before the berserker could clasp its teeth around Raven's throat, an earth-shaking growl ripped its attention away.

The sound alone was enough to pull the empath back to consciousness, and shee as well turned her head to the side to _confirm_ where it came from — something in her gut just knew right then.

When her vision finally pulled its two blurry images together and sharpened, there she widened her eyes to see a familiar green werebeast, its own claws and teeth unsheathed and ready to wreak havoc.

"B—Beast Boy...?"

(TO BE CONTINUED)

 **Author's Note: Hey guys! I wanted to get this next chapter out as soon as possible, so you can expect weekly updates from now on. I hope I wrote a good action sequence, because next chapter is where the REAL fight begins!**

 **Guest 1: Yes, it's kinda like Devil Hulk hunting Bruce Banner, but not really. This story will focus more on the personal struggles among the team.**

 **daniele583: You'll just have to read on to find out ;)**

 **AWESOMEROCKSTAR101: Thanks alot! I hope this chapter was just as exciting for you! Writing fight scenes is kinda hard for me, but I'm doing my best.**

 **As always, feel free to leave a review, some critiques and questions, and I shall respond to them in the next entry. Thank you!**


	3. Chapter 3 - The Beast Returns

**Chapter 3**

With four of the Titans down and dark clouds of the inferno smothering the day sky, the ruined village became a hellish arena for the two feral monsters.

The werebeast didn't skip a beat, for once he sized his opponent up, he growled one more time before charging ahead on all fours; its sole instinct was to protect Raven.

His speed tackled the the bigger creature off of the sorceress, and a violent wrestle ensued, buying her just enough time to crawl out of harm's way; the strength to simply phase or fly away had yet to return. When her powers did come back soon after, she took the split-second chance swoop over to her friends.

She first went over to Robin, whom was the first to come to. When she tried to help him up, a searing pain in his side pushed him back down.

"I think it broke some ribs." He grunted.

"Let me see it."

Removing his hand from that spot, she saw blood running down from his gash and immediately used her healing powers to treat it. Before he knew it, the bleeding stopped, the wound closed up and his bones underneath not longer felt fractured.

"Thanks, Raven, I can always count on you." When he looked over her shoulder, his eyes shot wide beneath his mask as he now saw two creatures battling it out. With a second glimpse, he immediately made out who the other creature was. "Is that... _Beast Boy_?"

Raven looked back to him, and as she watched them trade more blows, she drew out various emotions that blazed from the green beast like a wildfire — what she got out of it was pure carnivorous and territorial instinct, neither that seemed human for him.

 _Had the beast taken control again?_

The two teammates watched with great worry as the berserker got the better of Beast Boy and rammed him with its antlers. The beast gripped them to avoid having his abdomen pierced by its sharper point, but couldn't stop its larger mass from pushing him backwards into the shadows of the jungle. Having vanished from their sight, more trees were heard timbering as they got demolished, along with pained roars.

"Beast Boy!" Robin cried. "We have to help him!"

"No!" Raven argued as she lifted him off the ground on her shoulder. " _I_ have to help him."

"But—."

"You're still not fully healed. You need to stay and make sure the others are okay."

"But—."

Before Robin could argue further, Raven glowed her eyes red as she stared him down. He recognized this as a warning from the half-demon not to push the matter any further, so he sealed his lips.

Once she realized he got the message, her eyes returned to normal. "Good." That was all she said.

Right after, a flash of lightning dented the sky, accompanied by a boom of thunder.

" _Great_." Raven glowered at the sky, now furrowing with thick grey clouds; she _hated_ rain.

"At least it'll put out the fires." Robin pointed out as he limped over tend to Starfire. "Be careful, okay?"

"I will."

(SCENE BREAK)

With water starting to pour down heavily, the two beasts continued their onslaught in the thick of the wild, the werebeast now on the defensive for a change.

He had to use the trees, the vines, the rocks and just about anything within this habitat just to avoid or shield himself from his attacker whenever he could help it; while he was certainly faster, the berserker seemed far stronger.

Everywhere they took their battle, destruction laid in their wake, frightening off all nearby critters.

Beast Boy no longer possessed the thought of a thinking human — the only thing left on his mind was to mutilate this other monster, by _whatever_ means.

Closing in for another round of strikes, the beast ducked and dodged the berserkers claws and antlers while simultaneously getting in a few swipes of his own; its scaly flesh wasn't as hard as it appeared as he left some gashes on its back and face.

The berserker countered this by capturing one of wrists between its jaws and thrashed its green challenger all over the place, the latter howling in pain from its teeth as its body took the impact against the trees, the hardening dirt and the glistening wet rocks — its bite was harder than a bear trap's, threatening to rip his arm off.

His hand was thankfully still intact when the berserker threw him down a steep and slippery slope, but the beast lost track for where he was as his vision spun as he tumbled violently to the bottom, almost blacking out completely.

As the beast lifted its head, it quickly noted the immense blood seeping from the bite — chunks of flesh and meat were chowed off, and he could even see bits of _bone_ inside.

Hearing the distant roar of the other creature at the top, the beast picked himself up, using his other arm to support most of his weight, and carried off while they were out of each other's sight — he wasn't fleeing from the fight, but rather, the green animal needed its time-out to recuperate.

This wasn't over... not by a long shot.

(SCENE BREAK)

Raven encased herself in a spherical energy shield to protect herself from the storm as she soared over the infinite layers of trees to find her green friend — it seemed to take forever, the way this was going, though it wasn't going to be any easier down there either.

She needed a way to connect to him faster, and then stopped in mid-air, memories of Robin's phantom encounter with Slade rushing back to her. She remembered how she used their psychic connection to peer through his eyes; if she could do the same with Beast Boy, she should be able to discover where he is.

Changing to a lotus position, she heaved in some deep breaths to relax her mind, sharpening her focus on that one goal.

 _"Azarath Metrion Zinthos."_

An unseen force began pushing her long hair up off her shoulders, like it was being lifted by the low gravity of being underwater.

 _"Azarath Metrion Zinthos."_

A white aura, the shape of an actual raven, spawned from her body and circled her floating form.

 _"Azarath Metriom Zinthos."_

The spirit animal dove down into the jungle and spread its wings as it glided between the rocky terrains, the intertwined bushes and the other unpredictable formations of this natural habitat; everywhere it passed through, its glow illuminated the dark corners, revealing critters that were hidden there.

Soon enough, Raven was following a trail of chaffed branches, larger-than-normal footprints and... _blood_. The rose liquid stuck out among the green, so she traced it thoroughly, believing it to be Beast Boy's.

The blood trail led her to a swamp where, hunching right there with his feet in the water, his back turned to her, was Beast Boy — he was still in his beast form.

It took her only a minute to link their minds together, and once she accomplished that, she reopened her eyes to find them peering through his — the first sight she was greeted with was his shredded arm as he licked at this wound.

 _"Beast Boy!"_ She spoke in telepathy.

The beast perked up, hearing this strange voice in his head.

She continued, glad that he responded. _"It's me, Raven. I've connected our minds so I could find you. Are you okay?"_

The beast only grumbled, and she wasn't sure if this was the animal or the person answering.

 _"I'll take that as a so-so."_

From his location, her eyes followed his as they both surveyed the area. The water was muddy, yet very even on the surface with raindrops rippling the clean reflection.

As the beast looked down at his own face, Raven shared his fear, his pain and his sadness; she could swear the human part of him was reflecting back to either that Adonis incident or that confrontation with Trigon's demon army when he took that form once more and never since until now to protect her.

 _"That's a nasty wound you have there. I can hopefully fix it up once I get to you."_ She was confident in her abilities, but this injury he had was ghastly, the worst she had ever seen; it left her unsure as to whether her magic alone could fix it completely.

 _"I know you're in there somewhere, so if you can hear me, I need you to stay put."_

Any guarantees of whether he would comply to her began to drench when she heard the same snarl of that berserker with his ears — it was _close_.

The beast turned to the source of that noise, and right behind him, revealing itself from the shade under the leaves, was the other creature — it found him.

The beast stood up on his hind legs to growled at his challenger, inviting another round. As the two monsters clashed yet again, Raven was shocked out of her psychic connection.

Back in her own body, the empath jetted in the direction of where she believed her friend was; she allowed her feelings to guide her, much like a _Jedi_ would, according to one of his stupid movies.

"Hold on."

(SCENE BREAK)

The beast continued to hold his own as best as he could, but due to his injury and waning stamina, he was at a serious disadvantage.

Everything he threw at his foe, he was knocked back, thrown off or forced to endure another combination of punishment.

At the same time, the berserker grew increasingly frustrated as his opponent continued bouncing back after each blow, refusing to stay down.

They were both exhausted at this point, although the beast had the more dangerous case with swelling in his chest that still lingered.

Panting like a mutt, his eyes moved to the berserker's antlers, and a malicious idea drew itself in his head as malicious grin stretched wide on his face.

Not liking that look one bit, the berserker lunged forward, which was exactly what his opponent wanted as the beast capitalized by vaulting onto its back, and with a strong grip of both hands, snapped off one of its antlers from its stem — the bone-crunching sound echoed louder than the monster's agony.

Another streak of lightning, close to where they are, blinded the scene for just a split-second as the beast held up the broken piece and thrust it downwards, like a sword, into its back, impaling it right through its spine; the thunder that followed amplified that devastating blow.

But he wasn't done, not just yet.

Rolling the berserker on its back, still with own antler lodged in, the beast stared down his opponent, now with its own blood leaking down its face from its stump — gone was that ferocity, replaced only with resignation.

The beast tightened his fists until they were solid as rocks, the claws of his fingers pumping blood out of his palms, and proceeded to bombard his downed enemy with a flurry of hammerfists, much like a crazed ape.

Slowly but surely, the hard exterior of the berserker's face was giving way with each hit — its flesh and the meat underneath felt like it was being reduced to paste while its skull dented and caved in, much like an eggshell.

The pain and anger only served to empower its brutality — it hungered to dominate as the true alpha.

"STOP!" cried a female voice.

The beast halted his onslaught to see a pale but elegant woman floating just above the water, her upside-down reflection painting a perfect symmetrical picture.

Raven cupped her mouth to hold in a gasp at the graphic sight that laid before her.

There, at the edge of the ravaged swamp, Beast Boy was covered in scars long enough to dice him if they were as deep as they appeared, especially the hands that were completely reddened, but not with own blood.

The body he stood over was that of the berserker — its head was completely oozed in a dark red puddle, its head bashed in beyond recognition as pieces of what looked like its brains were scattered everywhere like it had been put under a tenderizer.

Raven was left even more uncertain whom she was facing now.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

 **Author's Note: Where do they go from here? The beast pretty much 'Lucilled' the berserker with his fists. Do you think this story should be rated M because of the violence? Ratings and genres may change depending on which direction the story takes.**

 **daniele583: To answer your question properly, the reason I had Beast Boy dream of his parents instead is because I plan to touch down on his past a little.**

 **Morgan: I just found that story you mentioned but decided not to read until I finish my own story. This story, however, won't go the way you think. ;)**

 **Tune in until next time to see how Raven resolves this situation. Feel free to leave a review and question, and I shall respond to them in the next chapter.**

 **Cheers!**


	4. Chapter 4 - Tears After the Rain

**Chapter 4**

Facing this odd yet familiar woman floating just above the reddening water, her presence somehow had an effect on the beast; a semblance of cautious comfort overcame him while he kept his guard up.

"Beast Boy? It's me... Raven, your friend." Remaining cautious herself, Raven tried reaching out to him. "I'm not going to hurt you." She could sense that part that was still her trusted friend, and she _needed_ to draw him out.

Whatever she was doing, it seemed to work. He lowered his bloody claws, he loosened his stance, his teeth withdrew behind his lips and his scowl faded away. With his ears hanging, he went from a feral stray to a sad puppy within moments — she even heard a pained whimper.

The empath softened her voice as best as she could. "Please, I just want to help you."

When she made it within meters, the beast turned his side to her, hiding his face yet giving her another frontal view of his arm.

Wincing at the sight of his torn flesh gaped open enough to show the bone, Raven swallowed and reached her hands out to summon her healing powers.

"Let me get that for you." She whispered, inching her fingers closer to his fur. "I can't stand to look at it any longer."

The beast tensed up as he eyed her for just a few seconds, only to close them as he settled down again. Sighing in relief, Raven hovered her hands over the gash and focused intently. Her spell wrapped itself around his arm and pulsed for what took a minute until the wound closed up finally.

When she removed her hands, her 'handywork' left a patch of exposed flesh displaying the tears that were now awkwardly welded shut together.

"That will have to do for now, I suppose." With that part over, she now had to get him under control so they could return to their friends. "Looks like our mission's... complete?"

Just as Raven fumbled under her cape for her communicator to let Robin and the others know where they were, the beast took off on all fours without warning.

"What the—?" Raven whipped around to see him already disappearing through the trees and chased after him. "Beast Boy! What's gotten into you??" Her calls were ignored, much to her annoyance.

To keep up with this wild creature, she used her shadow powers to have her body pass through the jungle obstacles to save the trouble of meandering around them.

From the way he paced, it didn't look like he was running away from her, but rather, he had picked up something and was hurrying there with purpose.

"Where are you going?"

Seeing the rest of his scars on his back that she forgot to heal as well, she mentally kicked herself — if Beast Boy kept going the way he is, he could wind up ripping the rest of himself open.

Soon, however, the beast led her to a clearing where he suddenly stopped in front of what appeared to be an abandoned research camp with a cabin in its center.

Raven followed him into the site on foot, tailing far enough behind that it wouldn't stir him up in any way. Looking around too, she found doors and windows that looked like they were left open for decades, some of them leaving evidence of forced entry while moss had long rooted into their interiors. Flasks were also strewn throughout the path they walked, some of them whole, but most of them in pieces around stains of whatever chemicals they contained.

The beast stopped once more, this time in front of the cabin's front porch, and pushed himself up on his hind legs. Raven flinched, expecting him to let out a skyward cry, only to instead observe him as he just stood like that, upright, like he was surveying the place intensely.

Ultimately, Raven had to ask the obvious. "What is this place? Why did you bring us here?"

Of course, she wouldn't get an answer. Instead, another tremble of thunder, though understated this time, brought her to face the sky where she found the dark clouds parting; at long last, the rain was slowing to a stop.

It was right at this moment that her peripheral caught the animal's height sinking, and she turned her attention back to see the beast shrinking down in size, his fur and claws sheathing back into his skin.

There stood in its place was the familiar human form of her teammate, the scars all over his bare skin still apparent.

"B—Beast Boy... is that you?"

He turned to her, eyes half-lidded like he was still waking up after an all-nighter. Raven tightened her concentration as to avoid looking anywhere lower than his face — he was facing her, _fully naked_.

"R—Raven?" He murmured.

She was at a loss for words; while she was relieved to have her friend back, her mind scrambled to find an excuse to dissolve this awkward situation, and then she remembered his injuries.

"I—I need to heal your injuries!" Shrugging it off, she got her cool back as she sat him down on the steps and got to work. Her powers this time enveloped him all over like a bodysuit, and surely after another minute, those wounds closed up as well.

"It's feels like... being in a nice bubbly jacuzzi." Beast Boy said, smiling lightly as he enjoyed this warm sensation.

Raven couldn't help but smile as she finished up and then unclipped her cape to put around him, mainly just to _cover_ him until they could find some proper clothes later.

They sat together like this for a while, watching the storm as it waned until its last raindrop made its fall.

"What happened?" asked Beast Boy once his breathing levelled. "Why am I covered in blood? And why does my heart f—feel like it's gonna...?" Another harsh soreness sprouted in his chest, and he thumped his hand there, as if that would help at all.

The girl's worry spiked again, and she held him as he hunched over like he was going to hurl. "What's wrong??"

She already knew what the problem was, so she tried reaching for the source of his pain to see if her abilities could help in any way.

"It hurts!" The changeling cried, now breathing shallowly.

"I need you to calm down and let me help you!"

"I... d—don't think you can." He garbled his words "N—Not with... t—this!"

Raven narrowed her eyes. "Watch me!"

Laying him back, she floated her hands over his chest and started uttering her mantra, boring deep into herself to bring out her best effort; she knew she couldn't really help this case, but she would at least try to _bandage_ the problem until she could get him the proper help he needed.

"Stay with me." She commanded in a stern yet caring tone.

Beast Boy did his best to obey her and dug deep for any memories he could cherish to provide him momentary relief from the burn.

"That's it." She encouraged. "You'll be okay, I promise."

In truth, Beast Boy couldn't find any memories that were fond enough to compare to what was happening right now, besides that one time she unexpectedly hugged him after that _Malchior_ incident; just being out here alone with Raven was enough to soothe him through.

Being his close to the _angelic_ half-demon, he took this advantage to admire her beauty yet again and melted under his graceful image. Everyone usually looked to Starfire as divine beauty, but to the shapeshifter, Raven's modesty outshone her.

After what felt like an hour that passed, the strain in his cardiac muscles drifted away like sand blown by the gentle wind.

Coming back to, he saw Raven, still leaning over him, venting in exhaustion — against all odds, she managed to save him, and he didn't know how but didn't care.

"Are you okay?" He asked her, baring his toothy grin.

"Am _I_ okay??"

No, she wasn't; he had terrified her for _five long minutes,_ not that she would admit it.

(SCENE BREAK)

"Have you found them, Star?"

"No, Robin." Hanging her head, Statfire flew back down to him and Cyborg after sweeping the far reaches of the jungle. "The jungles of Africa are truly an abstruse habitat to traverse."

"Don't worry, we'll find them."

"I worry for both of them, especially Beast Boy." Ever the one to wear her emotions on her sleeves, the tamaranian threw herself onto her leader's shoulder.

"I'm still not having any luck picking up their signal." Cyborg stated, clearly irritated as he tried computing the map display on his arm over and over again.

Suddenly, Robin's communicator buzzed, and none of them wasted a second to gather up as he took it out and flipped it open to see Raven's face on the small screen.

"Raven!" He exclaimed, relief washing over the three Titans. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, you're the second person to ask me that." She replied in her classic monotone. "I'm at this abandoned research camp that used to belong to Beast Boy's family."

"W—What?"

Starfire pushed in, more than eager to pour out her heart. "Oh, we are most joyous to see that you didn't end up as fresh meat in the jungle!"

"Thanks, Starfire... I'm sending you our coordinates now."

Once Raven's blinker popped up on Cyborg's navigator, they rushed off to find those two in the T-Plane.

(SCENE BREAK)

After a good long shower in his old bathroom to get all the blood off, Beast Boy carried himself to the master bedroom and was glad to find that his parent's wardrobe still contained some of his father's clothes, so he picked a plain t-shirt and a pair of shorts that fitted him loosely as he put them on.

Sitting on the bed, he absorbed its softness, returning to when he used to share it with his mom and dad as a little boy during the _spooky_ nights.

Looking to the bedside table, he picked up a fractured frame that was sitting there and brought it on his lap to gaze at the photo inside; it was that of a pair of scientists, a couple, smiling at the camera while holding him as a baby between them; they looked happy as ever.

Raven herself decided to explore his old home as well. With each room she passed, a story revealed itself behind every corner; there were books, maps, diagrams of chemical formulas and even fossils of various critters shown to her.

Just how much about himself did he keep from everyone?

When she found what was obviously his bedroom, she saw it flooded with wallpapers, drawings and toys of many different animals. To further her surprise, there were even hard-covered encyclopedias strewn all over the floor.

She never knew he actually read all this; back home, it was usually comics or magazines. It impressed her, actually... quite alot.

Eventually, she joined her friend in the room he was in where she caught him sobbing uncontrollably, his tears felting the picture he was holding. It struck her, for while she had seen him vulnerable before, never had she seen him actually _cry —_ she couldn't bear this sight.

When she came over and saw the picture for herself, she understood. Without saying anything more, the empath sat next to her green friend and pulled his head onto her shoulder where he could continue releasing his grief, something that she often never had the privilege of, while they both heard the whirr of the T-Plane approaching their location.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

 **Author's Note: Thanks for reading this chapter! Nothing more to say.**

 **NeverlandHeart: I had no idea that your story existed until someone in the review section pointed me to yours. Nonetheless, I'm glad to have you following my story. You got nothing to apologize for ;)**

 **Please leave a review or question and I will respond to them in the next chapter! Ciao!**


	5. Chapter 5 - Not a Date

**Chapter 5**

Upon their return to the tower, Beast Boy was immediately rushed to the medical bay to have his wounds properly cleaned, stitched and bandaged; Cyborg, being the technical expert of the group, did most of the dirty work while Robin stood by to hand him whatever tools he needed.

Starfire waited right outside, pacing back and forth through the hallway anxiously, spouting her emotions like a lawn sprinkler, which irritated Raven to where she sealed herself in her room to meditate; she understood fully where her alien friend was coming from, but she could only tolerate it so much — _panicking_ wasn't going to help either.

Once Cyborg finished patching him up, he had his friend rested on one of the beds where he hooked him to a cardiac monitor. Standing over him, he reached one robotic hand out and converted it into what appeared to be some sort of scanner.

"I need you hold still for a minute."

The changeling raised a brow. "Dude, what are you doing?"

"Do as he says, Beast Boy." Robin commanded, standing in a corner with his arms folded.

"And also, just relax."

"How long is a _minute_?" Beast Boy asked, which earned him a _look_ from both the older guys. "Okay, sorry." He giggled nervously.

Shutting up, he did as instructed and relaxed his muscles while he allowed Cyborg to roam him scanner up and down his body, mainly his torso where the problem truly dwelled.

Only when he was done with that bit did Beast Boy open his mouth once more. "What is that thing, Cy?"

"A built-in CT scanner." Cyborg replied as he walked over to the big computer. "Self-made."

"Rad!"

Ignoring his comment, the half-robot activated the machine typed in his usual codes to display the results with his DNA molecules — what he analyzed ended up flooring him.

"Well? What is it?" Their patient demanded.

Robin joined Cyborg by the screen and too was silenced by the display.

"Hello? Am I just imagining my own voice?"

(SCENE BREAK)

About two days after the incident, Beast Boy was allowed to roam free within their headquarters after having to be stuck on that medical bed for ages; things _should have_ been back to normal then, but not really.

Raven was the first to notice his change in demeanor. Whenever he passed her in halls, he would simply wave to her instead of making any futile attempts at humor, which often had her side-glancing him over her shoulder.

In the common room, things were supposedly alright, except he became less prone to his goofy antics. At first glance, it could have been mistaken for blossoming maturity, but the empath detected that there was something _off_ ; from the way he now carried himself, he looked as though he was just going through the motions, even while playing videogames with Cyborg.

Speaking of which, even Cyborg and Robin were quieter than usual, like they knew something that she didn't. She figured that whatever reasons they had, they would tell her eventually, as well as Starfire.

When Beast Boy went over to the kitchen table where Raven was sitting with her face in one of her books, she watched with one eye off her page as he took out some tofu, cooked it and sat a couple of stools away from her on the opposite end; there, he began eating quietly without sparing a glance at her.

She had to wonder if his mind was still looping over the gruesome actions that his beast form unleashed on that berserker — he's had more than enough rest to use exhaustion as an excuse.

No... this was something else.

Within minutes, the two were joined by the tamaranian princess, though it took Beast Boy more than a couple of seconds to realize she was right behind him.

"Oh, hey Star, what's up?"

"Have your feelings improved?" She asked. "It has been roughly forty-eight hours since you last cracked one of your jokes."

"R—Really?" He stuttered. "I thought you were getting sick of them."

Raven chose to say _nothing_ to that.

Starfire then sat down next to the young man and lent a tender hand on his shoulder. "I can tell that you are troubled, friend." Beast Boy took another spoon of his tofu, unsure of how to respond. "Whatever is troubling you, you can share with us."

"Thanks, Star, but I'm fine." He lied.

"That's become one of the oldest lies in the book." Raven chimed in. " _I'm fine_."

This was where he got annoyed. "It's not that simple, okay?"

"Maybe it would be if you just talk to us."

Beast Boy flung his mouth open, ready to spit fire, but then sealed it again and stormed out of the area without bothering to bring what was left of his food; he wasn't in the mood for a verbal spar.

As everyone stopped to watch him leave, Raven's frustration softened quickly as she closed her book and too got up to leave. Whatever was wrong with him, she was more than determined to get to the bottom of it.

(SCENE BREAK)

In his room, the green Titan paced around the small space before he ripped his top off to examine all the bandages wrapped around his body; he looked like a sickly green mummy, and he wished he could take them off right now — then again, if he did that, he would instead wind up resembling a zombie with all the stitches.

A quiet knock on his door rushes him to put his shirt back on before he answered it. When the door slid open, Beast Boy's eyes widened into rings when they laid upon Raven standing outside.

"Raven?"

Clearing her throat, she offered him a pile of books she had in her hands. "I thought you might want these."

Taking the hardcovers, he shuffled them around, and it took him no longer than half a second to recognize that she had given the same ones that were lying around his childhood bedroom. He looked back up at her in astonishment.

"It was sad to see them just strewn about, unloved."

A sparkle returned as he smiled to her gratefully. Setting them down on his bed, he returned to lean against his doorframe with his serious expression again.

"Listen, I'm sorry about before."

"No, it's fine."

"No, it's not." He shook, and he stepped out into the hallway to face her again properly. "I know you and Star were just worried about me, and I acted like a dick."

This caused Raven to smirk. "Well, I can't give you a hard time for that — that's what I do to everyone else all the time, _you_ especially."

Beast Boy raised his hands apologetically. "Guilty as charged."

After sharing a small laugh, an awkward silence loomed over the two superheroes for about a minute until the male one scratched his head to carefully organize the words of his next question.

"Look, um... I was thinking of going out to get some air." He fidgeted with his fingers, to which Raven picked up. "I'm planning on going to that fair on my own. I don't suppose you want to come, huh?"

The empath just liftted her eyebrow at him and stared for felt like _another_ minute.

The changeling sucked in a breath, expecting her cold rejection at any second, only to be blown back by the answer she gave him.

"Sure."

(SCENE BREAK)

Throughout his life, Garfield Logan never believed he would have ever reached this point. Here he was, travelling through the city lights to the pier where Jump City's theme park dazzled in the early evening... with _Raven_ of all people.

"This is _not_ a date, just so you remember."

"I know." Beast Boy assured. "We're just here as _friends_."

Side by side, the two superheroes entered the amusement to find that it wasn't as packed with people as they anticipated, which was a refreshing change.

"Where are most of the families and _lovey dovey_ couples?" Raven asked, genuinely curious.

The changeling shrugged and made a guess. "Probably staying up to finish last-minute assignments. It's a weekday, remember?"

"Of course."

As they ventured on through, Raven felt waves of uncetrainty rippling off her friend, and she knew it had something to do with her. Regardless, she figured it was best to not prod him for the time being.

On another hand, she couldn't quite figure out why she agreed to come along with him to such a joyous environment. Was it out of worry? Was it just to stick by her friend? Was it out of boredom?

No... there was something more to this.

Shaking it off, Raven cleared her head, wanting to enjoy Beast Boy's company. Strangely enough, she didn't seem to mind being with him alone — while he wasn't looking, she chanced a few seconds to gaze at him, admiring his flair that she never used to appreciate before; to her, it illuminated more than the decorative lights surrounding them.

Beast Boy pulled her around the carnival to show her many games they that played; some of them she detested due to their shady nature, others that she actully enjoyed and dominated, with a _little_ assistance from her powers so that she wouldn't lose like they _rigged_ her to.

On the rides, she kept a straight face, whether it was bartelling down a roller coaster or having those _oh-so-scary_ animatronic monsters popping out at them in those haunted mansions — she was more perplexed that her green friend didn't suffer a heart attack, considering the circumstances.

What that returning the front of her mind, she now wanted to find somewhere quiet.

(SCENE BREAK)

Finding a serene shore with no people around, Beast Boy and Raven trotted along the sand, their bare feet squishing into the cozy surface with every step and pushing the grain up between their toes.

Although she loved the comforting warmth of her bedroom, the empath had to admit how satisfying this was.

"We should have come here instead." She commented, her tone brighter than she intended.

"Note taken." Beast Boy agreed, taking no offense.

Finding a flat stone, he quickly picked it up and brought Raven to the edge of the lapping water.

"What are you doing?"

"Ever skipped a stone?" He questioned while offering it to her to try.

She shook with a pout but took the hard object anyway, deciding to humor him. "Should be easy." She said.

Glad that she accepted, he procceeded to demonstrate the motions as he explained. "Stand sideways like this and make sure the hand holding the stone is behind you; you can pick whichever side suits you."

"Okay." She nodded.

"Once you have your stance, bend your knees a bit. Finally, as you throw the stone, make sure to flick your wrist to give it that good spin. If you're successful, you should make it past _at least_ two bounces."

"You wanna _bet_?"

"Oho! We're doing that now, huh?"

Raven bounced her eyebrows, challenging him.

"Okay, fine!" Putting his hands on his hips, he stepped aside to give her a shot. "What will I get if you lose?"

Raven squinted hard to think. "Another _not-date_ , I suppose."

"Sweet!" He fist-pumped.

"But if _you_ lose... I get an explanation."

"For what?"

Smiling, Raven readied her stance. "You'll just have hope I win if you want to find out."

"No fair, Raven."

Folding his arms to mock annoyance, he observed the woman as she stood to her side and practiced waving the wrist with the stone.

She was good — he wanted her to fail so he could get another potential date with her, whereas he also wanted her to succeed.

After a few deep breaths, she planted her feet, she rotated her waist, reeling her arm back, and like a bow, catapulted the stone across the water — it made _four_ bounces before plonking out of view.

"Oh no!" Beast Boy fell to his knees, losing the bet.

Raven did her best to contain the joy she was feeling from this achievement. "I win." She declared, holding back her grin.

Shortly, she turned around to see the green Titan, still in the sand, now wearing this somber far-away look as he gazed across the sea; he must have worked out already what she was about to ask him.

Sitting closer to him than she initially intended, Raven waited until Beast Boy could look her in the eye to finally pop out the question.

"Are you going tell me now what's been bothering you?"

Holding his chest, a trait that was now becoming common for him, he inhaled steadily until a burst of courage was finally unearthed.

"I need to tell you something about my health." He began. "I told Robin and Cyborg not to tell you and Starfire until I was ready."

Raven feared where this was going, but encouraged him to continue.

"There's a reason I rarely ever transform into that beast. It's not just because I could lose control. You know how my DNA is always unstable?"

Raven nodded, kind of wanting him to make his point already.

"Well... after that mission in Africa, Cyborg scanned my anatomy."

"And?"

Beast Boy turned back to the horizon where the half-moon sheened. They both shared his boiling anxiety, which now had Raven's heart doing a marathon.

Swallowing a lump that felt hard as another stone, he drew out the news.

"Apparently, when I last transformed into that monster, it caused some serious high blood pressure, which made my heart swell up."

"W—What are you saying?"

"It means that my heart's enlarged... and it's at risk of failing."

(TO BE CONTINUED)

 **Author's Note: This chapter was intended to slow things down and give readers time to breathe. I've loosely based Beast Boy's condition on that heart symptom that athletes commonly get when pushing themselves too hard. There's nothing more to say, so if you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review or question, and I shall respond to them in the next entry.**

 **Oh, and Happy New Year!**


	6. Chapter 6 - Fear

**Chapter 6 (Redux)**

Raven felt the whole stop, albeit _figuratively_ , as she tried to process this brand new terrifying information, icy thorns now prickling the back of her neck.

"Your _heart_...?" As she tried to speak, her jaw was almost welded in place while her lips dried and hardened, restricting its movements. "I... don't understand."

"Cyborg compares it to _cardiomegaly_." Beast Boy explained as soberly as he could while casting his eyes down momentarily. "It's severe."

The empath scrambled for words, her emotions threatening to bust open her skull. "A—Aren't there ways to treat it?" She demanded, a visible quiver breaching her voice.

"I'm on some meds." He answered, and took out a carton of ACE pills from his pocket to show her. "I've taken extra care not to take them while you or Starfire were around."

"Why?" Her tone raising, Raven forced the changeling to look back at her. "Why didn't you just tell us?"

"I was going to!" He yelled without meaning to. Realizing this, he allowed himself a deep breath before continuing. "I just didn't wanna freak you guys out."

"That doesn't make alot of sense."

"I know that!" Groaning, Beast Boy hid his head between his hands, clutching his hair. "I've been trying to make _fucking_ sense of this myself!"

Straight away, he shot up off the sand, grabbed his shoes and started his march off the beach in the direction they came from. Raven, shocked by his rare profanity, chased him down shortly, still craving for proper answers.

"Can you just stop for a minute?" She demanded. Surely enough, he stopped to let her swerve in front of him. "You need to talk to me!"

Beast Boy flailed his hands, his mouth hanging loose while words eluded him for a bit. As the empath watched him like this, she couldn't help but note how the moonlight on one side of his face contrasted against the shadow on the other.

Quickly regaining some composure, he stood firmly. "Both Robin and Cyborg and doing everything they can to find a solution." He pointed out. "I'm the one who made them swear not to say anything until _I_ was ready."

"Have they found anything?"

"Nothing, so far." He shook, a dark frown lining his features.

"What about surgery?"

"That won't help, either."

"Why not??"

Sensing Raven's throbbing distress, Beast Boy took hold of her shoulders and leaned closer to speak softer. "Even if I _could_ find a donor... my DNA is far too unstable to accept any other organs."

All at once, the empath felt the ground shrink beneath her feet, everything else shattering around her, her own heart pierced by a red-hot knife.

"In truth... this was a long time coming." His eyes began to glisten. "Ever since I transformed into that beast the second time, back when we were all fighting hell to keep you safe from Trigon, I began to feel these chest pains, but they weren't really serious then."

"That explains why I've seen you touching your chest more often." Raven stated, a ounce of sensibility returning. "I thought it was just one of your new habits."

"Yeah..." Beast Boy trailed off, facing the sea again. "Besides, I would _never_ under any circumstance ask anyone to give up her life for me."

Raven raised an eyebrow at his peculiar choice of pronoun. " _Her_ life?"

" _His or hers_ , I mean!" He blurted in haste to correct himself. "On the other hand... I would gladly do _vice versa_ if I could, especially for my family."

"Don't say that, Beast Boy!"

The fire brewing within her being finally erupted. All at once, swirls of her... _dark_ energy... kicked up the sand around them and dimmed the night sky even further than either thought was possible. Her cape rippled wide open, creating the shape of wings, her violet hair thrashing upwards like wild serpents on Medusa's head.

"Raven!" Beast Boy cried as soon as he caught on with what was happening.

When her feet started floating off the ground, he clung to the girl tightly in hopes of anchoring her.

"You have to stop!" He tried yelling, though he could barepy hear his own voice over the immense force. "Please, it's okay!"

"No... it's not." He could hear her muttering. "It's my fault..."

"No it isn't!" He brought himself closer so that their noses and mouths were almost touching. "It's not your fault!"

"It's my fault..."

"It's not!"

"It's my fault."

"No!"

"It's my fault!"

"STOP IT!" He was almost screaming through his parched throat now, desperate to get through to her.

If this continued any longer, her powers could wipe out the whole city.

Suddenly, he embraced her tighter, bringing his lips close enough to her ear. "I'm sorry, Raven." He whispered. "Please... I'm right here."

"Beast Boy..." Huffed the wild empath; it was working.

"I'm still here." He went on, placing a hand on her tear-lined cheek. "I'm not going anywhere, okay?"

The brewing eventually settled, and he felt both their knees planting back down on the beach again. Grounded once more, he still held onto her until everything normalized completely.

"I'm sorry." She choked out, ripping herself away to hide her face in shame. "I—I don't know... w—why I lost control. It shouldn't have h—happened."

"It's okay, Raven." She was pulled back into another embrace. "It's no one's fault."

"What are we going to do?"

"We fight, no matter the odds." He declared. "We're Titans, after all."

(SCENE BREAK)

Back in the tower, Starfire was present in the common room with Robin and Cyborg, whom were busy studying the berserker on their big screen, scratching their heads to try and figure out its origins.

"Why must we trouble ourselves with this monster again?" Asked the tamaranian, genuinely curious. "We stopped it, did we not?"

"Technically, it was Beast Boy." Cyborg interjected, shuddering at the mental image of its remains that were discovered later on.

"We need to find out who was behind this attack." Robin informed straightforwardly. "This monster didn't just come from anywhere."

"How can you be sure, Robin?"

"Because my gut tells me so."

Starfire looked to her biggest teammate in confusion, only to recieve a shrug.

That was when the door behind them parted to reveal Beast Boy and Raven entering to join them.

"Friends!" Delighted to see them again, Starfire whooshed over without a second thought to swoop the returning couple in a bone-crushing hug. "I am more than elated to hear how your date blossomed!"

"T—Thanks, Star..." Beast Boy wheezed.

"Let... go... NOW!!" Growled Raven, fighting to free herself from her grasp.

Startled by the empath's burst of anger, the red-haired alien released them immediately and backed off nervously.

"I am sorry!"

"Sorry!?" She was hit with a haggard glare. "You could have _killed_ him!"

"K—Killed him...?" Starfire's handa flew up to her chest, her feelings hurt. "H—How could I?"

The two oldest guys of the team shut off their screen to join the commotion.

"What's wrong?" Robin asked alarmingly.

"Yeah, what are you yelling at Star for?" Added Cyborg.

Raven shifted her glare to the two and cooled down, replacing it with a melancholic glimmer — with this short exchange, they realized understood right away and averted their gaze.

"Don't worry, Star!" Beast Boy made haste to assure the sensitive girl. "My bones have extra calcium in them, so they won't break so easily as she thinks."

No one shared his high-pitched cackle, his poor attempt to lighten the mood, as the awkward vibes loomed ever more presently.

Clearing his throat, he decided to stall things no further and turned to the tamaranian princess, his throat hardening with dread.

"There's something you have to know." He broke the silence, his voice deepening. "Could you guys leave us alone, please?"

Nodding respectfully, Robin led the others out of the area room while Beast Boy took Starfire to sit on their sofa where he held her hands to break the news.

There wasn't another sound in the room that could be heard, other than the details he shared, followed by frigid gasps and muffled sobs from his friend.

"I'm sorry." The changeling apologized meekly.

It broke his already wounded heart to see Starfire, one of the most spirited people he ever knew, reduced to a tearing bloodshot mess because of him.

Ultimately, this strong woman flung her arms around her green friend, _gentler_ this time, and crumbled. Beast Boy didn't mind at all, for this showed how much he meant to her; to him, she was like a big sister.

"Your friends are here for you." She croaked. "We will fight for you in any way we can."

A warm smile stretched across his face.

(SCENE BREAK)

Unable to sleep nor meditate, no matter how hard she tried to clear her head, Raven dragged herself to her dressing table where she picked up a special handheld mirror. Bringing it close, she noticed dark rings under her eyes that were signs of either stress or fatigue.

The aching sorceress wasn't going to wait until tomorrow to scrape the bottom of the barrel — or in this case, the abyss of her own mind — she wanted to find answers _now_.

And so, she transported herself through this mystical wormhole into Nevermore, the home of all her personified emotions.

Here in the astral domain, Raven promptly discovered how devastated the place had become in her absence with its rocky formations blown out of proportion, their large chunks strewn all over the terrain like a war-torn country.

"Looking for me?"

She spun around to find a bespectacled version of herself standing in a yellow cloak with her arms folded, her inquisitive countenance glinting through the darkness of her hood.

"Knowledge?" Raven approached her other self with caution.

"Yes." She answered frankly while adjusting her glasses. "Did you really need to clarify?"

"What happened here?"

"You should have already worked that out for yourself." Sighing briskly, the emotion nonetheless decided to stream the information. "Ever since you found out about Beast Boy's condition, Fear and Rage have been running amock like an unstoppable hurricane, leaving destruction in their wake, as you can see."

"What am I supposed to do?"

" _Confront_ them."

"No!" Raven shook, boring her fingers into her temples. "Not that!"

"I'm sorry." Knowledge interjected, deducing her real question. "I can't provide you with answers on how to fix his condition. All I can do is store information that you have collected over the course of your life."

"There has to be something." Issued Raven. "It's my fault that he's like this."

"Why? Because he allowed the beast to take form when he saw that other monster pinning you down?"

"Because I didn't fight harder!" She wailed, and then panted for a bit. "I have to save him..."

Right then, she heard a cry, accompanied by rushing footsteps, and turned yet again to see another one of her emotions barrelling towards her; it was Timid, shrivelled in her grey cloak.

The frightened clone fell against her originator and bawled into her shoulder, messing it with her tears and snot.

"B—Beast B—B—Boy is g—going to... d—die!" She hiccuped. "I... d—don't... want that t—to... h—happen!"

At first, Raven went rigid, not used to being a source for comfort, and looked back to Knowledge to find that she was no longer there. After about a minute, she took a queue from Beast Boy and hugged her cowering self, stroking her back and hair.

"I won't let that happen." She stated quietly. "I'll find a way to save him."

"You p—promise?"

"I promise."

(SCENE BREAK)

Far elsewhere, a figure clad in black armor watched a bundle of screens, his hands tied behind his hand as they displayed drone footages of that gruelling battle of the beasts; he observed it over and over like a calculating chess player.

"Impressive." He said no one in particular, his calm yet venomous voice thrumming through the confines of his dark lair. "Who would have thought that the _class clown_ had it in him?"

Turning his back, a diabolical idea blossomed in his head like a butterfly sprouting its wings for the first time. Beneath the bronze mask veiling his face yet exposing only one of his vigilant eyes, he couldn't help but smirk.

"This is _perfect_."

(TO BE CONTINUED)

 **Author's Note: You all deserve an explanation if you hadn't already received it. I had a horrific case of writer's block, as well as life in general getting in the way. I posted a previous version of this chapter before, but shortly deleted it. The reason is that I was forcing myself to reach two-thousand words when not much progress in the plot had been made. I had to step back for awhile and re-evalutate until I finally I got my mojo back.**

 **daniele583: Yes, his heart is at high risk of either failing or exploding.**

 **Guest Reviewer: Which part are you saying that I was going overboard with? There's a typo in your feedback that's confused me. I'm just curious.**

 **This will NOT happen again, I promise you. At the same time, I won't be updating as regularly as I used to, but if you stick around, your patience will be rewarded. If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review or question and I will respomd to them in the next entry. Thanks!**


	7. Chapter 7 - Death Stroke

**Chapter 7**

As Raven continued to cradle her cowering copy of herself, a booming laughter quaked all through the ruins of Nevermore, rattling both their ribcages — it was a mix of Trigon's baritone as well as her own accumulating wicked malice.

Releasing her hold on Timid, who vanished into the ground with haste, the sorceress took a bold stance to confront this threat, her fists balled at her sides and expelling her ink powers.

At last, the threat revealed itself as the colossal horned red figure with its four satanic eyes searing her, just as she predicted.

"Hello, dear _daughter_." The double-voice of the one manifestation projected the ferocity of a hurricane, hardly yelling at all. "Daddy's missed you."

"Can't say the same for you, _Rage_!" She retorted, holding her ground. "And my father is no more, so stop trying to masquerade as him!"

"Oh, Raven, you're such a _killjoy_." In an instant, the sheep's clothing that was her father's shedded, the red cover and quadruple glare remaining, as the emotion reverted to _her_ original form. "You know I'm not the one who's _really_ causing all this."

"I don't care!" Bellowed Raven, her own temper simmering. "I just want you to shut the hell up so I can get some sleep!"

"And what exactly is it that I'm bothering you about?" Keeping her _shark-grin_ , Rage placed a finger under her chin as to appear like she was thinking.

The empath's lips were sealed and he continued facing down her darkest emotion.

"I'll answer for you."

Raven raised her guard as the red emotion began closing their distance rather casually, although the slight twitches in her inbalanced posture told her otherwise.

"If I was _Guilt_ , I'd be blaming you for not putting up a better fight, which led to Beast Boy endangering his own wellbeing... as you've already stated." Rage then bunched her shoulders to mimic cowardice. "Timid, as you just saw, went crazy as she couldn't bear the thought of a world without the _love of your life_."

This was where Raven almost buckled in surprise at that last point, which didn't go unnoticed.

"Oh, yes!" The emotion stopped right in front of Raven and eyeballed intensely. "Love and Lust shared aimlessly all their unsaid feelings about the green changeling; Lust was especially vocal about the things you wanted to do to him since you saw him naked that day in the jungle."

Raven was now petrified on the spot, tensing the muscles in her face to avoid showing embarrassment.

"And it's ALL YOUR FAULT!" Her outburst caused yet another tremor.

Instinctively, Raven flew up to make distance from Rage as the latter unleashed a tsunami of ink all over the land.

"IT'S ALL ON YOU!!" The emotion continued ranting. "BECAUSE YOU'RE WEAK!! YOU CAN'T EVEN PROTECT YOUR FRIEND!!"

Raven was too busy performing air maneuvers to avoid dark tendrils that portruded out to attack her, but as those words sunk into the empath's mind, her movements soon turned flaky as she lost concentration.

"HELL, YOU'LL PROBABLY GET EVERYONE KILLED!!"

One of those tendrils soon managed to get ahold of her legs and tightened around her with the vise of an anaconda.

"AND YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE THE STRONGEST OF THE TITANS!?!? WHAT A JOKE!!"

Failing to break free, Raven was violently thrashed around, careening from rock to rock like a wrecking ball; she was lucky enough to have conjured a shield of that ironic shape to protect herself from the every brunt until it shattered with enough pressure.

"YOU THINK HIDING IN THAT GLASS BUBBLE WILL HELP!?!?"

Ultimately, Raven was pulled into the pitch-black fluid, presumably to drown under Rage's wrath. Shutting her eyes tight, the empath prepared for her fate.

For a second, there was oblivion... and then... her back thudded hard against a hard floor.

Groaning in pain, she squinted and pushed herself to a sitting position, her own weight feeling like a ton. Checking around while she rubbed her aching sides, she was relieved to find herself guarded by the walls, ceiling and furniture of her room again.

Laying right in front of her was the mirror she dropped, fortunately unbroken.

 _Unfortunately_ , Raven knew she wasn't going to get much sleep tonight with this unresolved conflict. Putting the mirror back in her drawer, she surrendered to her bed, defeated, to try nonetheless.

(SCENE BREAK)

Weeks later, Beast Boy got out of bed one morning and stood shirtless in front of his wardrobe mirror to check all his battle scars; this had become a routine since all the bandages and stitches were removed.

By now, they were fading into bold knit lines resembling strokes of a paintbrush. Tracing them with his fingers, it was like touching lumps of silicon rubber on his body. Normally, his inner vanity would have him flexing his muscles to flatter himself, but as of late, he couldn't be bothered.

Once again, while staring at himself, he could hear rusted metal bars rattling in the back of his head; the beast was demanding to be let out of its cage again.

Ignoring that headache, he went on to shower and get dressed as hurriedly as he could, eager to muffle that noise — it seemed to work.

Suddenly in a musical mood, he picked up an accoustic guitar that was always propped up in one corner and sat back on his bed with it.

Beast Boy started dancing his fingers on the strings, no particular song coming about as he allowed the notes and chords to just play for themselves, the steady formless tune painting the air.

For a solid minute, when he gained some momentum, the changeling escaped his confines to another realm where his worries needn't be — he was weightless... boundless... like the sails of a _phoenix..._ if that made any sense at all.

This trip also took him down memory, back to his childhood... back when he was just _Garfield_. He could still remember the smell of his tiny bed as he laid there, curled in his sheet, while his mother serenaded him with a lullaby with her ukelele.

Sadly, he had archived those bittersweet so long ago that he forgot the words that used to always rock him to sleep.

Setting the instrument aside, Beast Boy exhaled, descending back to reality, and turned his head to see his best friend, Cyborg, leaning against his doorframe.

"What was that?" Asked the big man, intrigued.

His first response was a shrug. "Just a little finger picking."

"Sure beats watching you pick your _nose_." Cyborg jabbed, earning a wince from his younger teammate. "But in all seriousness, why don't you play the guitar more often? You'll have better luck charming Raven."

Beast Boy just about turned into stone at that last remark, though he tried not to show any visible discomfort — Cyborg, knowing him too well, saw right through it and winked at him mischievously.

Clearing his throat, the younger Titan got up and came over to him, his body language already hinting that he wished to change the topic.

"Anyway... did you just come here to admire my musical talent?"

"Actually, I have something for you." Cyborg pulled out what appeared to be a wrist-watch, to which confused Beast Boy. "I finished building it last night."

"You made me a watch?"

"Take a closer look, B." When he did, the changeling still couldn't figure out what it was, but an idea did come to mind. Cyborg rolled his human eye and answered for him. "It's a _heart monitor_."

"Oh." Pausing, he wondered why his friend would make this for him when could have just bought one from a shop.

Reading his mind, Cyborg explained further. "I made it for you to wear so we can keep track of your heartbeat."

"In case anything goes _wrong_?"

"Yeah..."

"Was this your idea or Robin's?"

"Take a guess."

Beast Boy tucked in his arms and frowned to the floor, having figured as much.

"I'm sorry." Said Cyborg meekly.

Although he was iffy, Beast Boy nonetheless stuck out one of his wrists for the machine man to clasp the device around it. When he pulled back, he read the little screen to see that his heart rate was normal.

"It looks cool, though!" The changeling remarked, suddenly cheery again. "Thanks for the present."

Cyborg could only nod with a small smile, thankful that his friend took it alright.

"I'm just glad you didn't make it a _collar_."

(SCENE BREAK)

All of a sudden, the Titans were shaken out of their daily routines when their alarm once again summoned them to the common room where the map display showed trouble happening just up north in Jump City.

"Business as usual?" Raven estimated calmly.

"Sounds about right." Cyborg remarked.

"Whatever it is, we know what to do." Robin pointed out and decided to skip his catchphrase. "Let's go!"

Just like that, the team was off, Beast Boy in tow, until Raven turned around and stopped him at the doorway.

"Oh, come on!" He protested, loud enough for everyone to hear. "You guys can't keep cooped up in here!"

"You have to stay here, Beast Boy." She tried to reason, but he was having none of it.

"I can help! I can take of myself!" He looked to other Titans ahead of them. "Guys, help me out here!"

None of them said a word, Starfire looking away sympathetically while Robin came over.

"Beast Boy... I know it's frustrating for you, but she's right."

The changeling snorted, now beginning to fume. "Of course you'd say that!"

"We're just trying to protect you!"

"FROM WHAT!?!?" His scream nearly shook the walls of the building and shattered the windows. "MYSELF!?!? I'VE BEEN KEPT IN THIS CUBICLE FOR TWO FUCKING WEEKS!! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST TRUST ME AND NOT TREAT ME AS A FUCKING KID ALL THE TIME!!"

"Beast Boy, please!" Shaken by his sudden temper, Robin tried reaching out, only to get shoved back.

"NO, DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH ME!! I'M TIRED OF ALWAYS BEING TREATED LIKE THE WEAKEST MEMBER, THE BLACK SHEEP!!"

"Yo, we don't think that of you at all!" Cried Cyborg, who hurried back over with Starfire as well.

"I CAN'T BE CAGED LIKE AN ANIMAL!!" Beast Boy was absorbed in his anger to hear the rapid beeping of his wrist-watch or feel the kicking in his chest that shallowed his breaths. "YOU HAVE TO LET ME SPREAD MY... W—WINGS!!"

With that last falter in his voice, Raven's multiple sirens went off at once as she feared that a grenade was about explode.

Without using any of her powers, the sorceress zipped in between the two disputers and locked the changeling in a... _cuddle,_ flooring the whole team, including the green hero himself.

Beast Boy, surprised by the empath's display of affection in front of the team, fought to stay angry at first, only to lose that hold as it melted away soon after.

"Please... it's not that we don't want your help." Raven locked eyes with him pleadingly. "We're afraid to risk losing you."

Words became lost to him while Raven kept him held together. With this space of silence could Beast Boy recollect himself and realize the error of his behavior.

"I'm sorry." He moaned, his vocal chords strained.

Raven then did a double-take between him and the others listening. "Maybe one of us should stay..."

"No." Beast Boy affirmed, pulling away from her. "You should go. You're more useful out there then you would be here."

"Are you sure?"

"Just go, I'll be fine." He waved her off. "I'm just gonna be playing videogames anyway."

Although she hesitated, Raven nonetheless left with the others to fulfill their crime-fighting duty.

Now left on with the whole tower to himself again, the first thing he did was wander over to the kitchen. Opening the fridge, he found a big round watermelon sitting in the bottom, waiting to be eaten. Beast Boy, not really on good terms with his appetite right now, gave it a pass to find something else to kill time with.

(SCENE BREAK)

Settling on videogames like he mentioned he would, Beast Boy was on the couch, thumbing away at the buttons of his controller while he stared blankly at his avatar on the screen.

About _four hours_ have passed since his friends left, and he still hadn't gotten a word from any of them, and it was getting on his nerves; he was so frustrated that he tried to squish a mosquito when it bit his neck.

Switching off his game, he tensed up when his hypersensitive nose picked up a foreign scent that was close — it was _inside_ the tower... and he wasn't expecting visitors.

Now on guard, he vaulted over the sofa and continued sniffing the air for the apparent intruder.

Deciding to play it smart, he changed into a fly so he could search all through their headquarters in swift succession, but everywhere he looked, including all the quarters, all he found were vacant spaces.

Maybe it was just his imagination after all, and yet... something was _off_.

"Screw it."

It didn't matter. He was probably losing his head over nothing as he massaged the growing soreness on his neck where he got pricked.

As he started his way back to the main room, he jerked to a stop once, and took off into a mad sprint, terror slithering down his spine — he had just picked up the foul stench of fresh blood, along with cold slick metal... and _death_.

Upon re-entry, a volt surged through Beast Boy's nerves when he saw the back of an armored figure sitting upright on their couch, facing the big screen; he was given a partial view of his dual swords strapped to his back in an X form.

"I _love_ your place." He spoke rather cooly, and then stood up to stare down the lone Titan with his one all-seeing eye through the bronze half of his mask. "It makes me wish I'd visited more often, don't you think, Beast Boy?"

"Slade!" He growled and got into his combat-ready stance. "What are you doing here!?"

"I missed you." He answered with a lazy shrug. "Why? Can't I visit an old friend after all these years?"

"What do you want!?"

Beast Boy was just about ready to strike; deep down, he was completely jarred by the return of their old arch nemesis, but he made a conscious effort to keep his head level.

"I'd like your help to do a test run."

"Why would I _ever_ help you?"

"You needn't know why." Slade then bent down to pick up an object from the seat that the changeline couldn't quite identify at first. "Oh, I do have a gift for you."

As he tossed it over, Beast Boy's sharp sight caught its horrid details as it spun in the air — there were crimson fluids spraying out one end while violet strands of hair lashed all around before it bounced on the floor by his feet.

"It should give you the right motivation."

When the changeling got a better look og his gift, his knees gave way, and he clattered to the floor, his heart set ablaze.

"NO!!" He shrieked bloody murder.

Slade just looked on indifferently, his head angled in a way that made it appear as though he was thinking inquisitively. "Now what are you getting so worked up about?"

Whatever the criminal mastermind said afterwards became white noise as Beast Boy felt his whole world get swallowed into oblivion.

Remaining ignorant to the changeling's pain, the masked intruder drew his swords and hopped over the lounge with ease.

"Ready when you are." He gloated.

Unfortunately, his opponent's will to fight had left him.

Laying before him was Raven's head, her eyes wide as saucers as they stared back through him lifelessly, blood pooling from her neck where the rest of her body should be.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

 **Author's Note: I know... I know... you probably want to kill me at this very second. Just take comfort in the fact that this time, I know exactly what I'm doing. You are free to theorize your predictions and leave your thoughts below. Let me know if this story should be rated M now or not. If you made it this far, the I hope you won't give up. Either way, thanks for reading this chapter, and I'll see you all next time.**


	8. Chapter 8 - Melon

**Chapter 8**

Beast Boy's whole body just shut down, every one of his circuits viciously torn out — he had just lost _another_ love of his life.

"R—Raven…?" He whimpered as he weakly extended a hand towards her head. "W—What did you do…?"

"You shouldn't be worrying about what I did, but rather what I'm about to make you do." Slade paused in his skulk, his shadow casting over the broken Titan. "Your last battle with that berserker truly staggered me, so I became interested in finding our more about you."

"So it was you?" Beast Boy didn't bother to look up at his foe; all strength had left his body, including his neck. "You were behind the attack in Africa?"

"You don't sound so surprised." The masked assassin brought his swords up, ready to strike the changeling who didn't seem to want to move. "Then again, maybe you're too paralyzed with grief at the sudden death of yet _another_ girlfriend."

"Why?"

This response surprised the man a little and allowed his curiosity to stall him. " _Why_ , do you ask?"

"Yes, Slade." Beast Boy nodded and finally looked up to their longtime nemesis, his eyes narrowed, but rather in pain than rage. "No has seen or heard from you for years. You could have started over."

"Excuse me?"

"I thought that maybe gave up on being a supervillain after that whole Trigon bullshit." As if being pulled up by strings, Beast Boy was back on his own two feet, his dry calmness projecting an unfamiliar wave. "You could have left to start a new life… so why come back?"

Slade gave no response as he swung his swords down, the blades missing their mark as Beast Boy dove out of harm's way on pure instinct — still, he didn't try to retaliate as he just stood there in his next position, eyes blank as a page.

"At least try to make this interesting for me!" The villain lunged for yet another attack, and again, they were avoided with a mixture of animalistic reflexes agility. "I wanted to come over and witness your beastly ferocity myself! You're disappointing me so far."

Although Beast Boy wanted to do just as he had described, he was too emotionally drained to care about anything anymore; here, he was just going through the motions while his mind had retreated elsewhere, probably to wail alone.

Something else was bothering him too, however; he had just seen Raven butchered, and yet, it just wasn't right for some reason. Was he perhaps clinging to false hope… or were his instincts actually trying to tell him something else although? It was highly unlikely, but he wanted to hope for a little more rather than wallow in despair.

"You're awfully quiet." Slade mocked, noting his wistful expression. "Shouldn't you be screaming _bloody murder_ at me by now?"

"Something…" Beast Boy muttered without complete thought.

For a moment, he forced yet another glance at Raven's discarded head and saw no visible difference, except for her eyes that were now closed to look like she was in a peaceful slumber — dead bodies can't close their eyes on their own, can they?

Robin had taught him once to always listen to that feeling in his gut, and it was whirring like a turbo engine right now.

With this in mind, Beast Boy's green eyes were set flame once more, reignited with purpose.

"That's it!" Gushed Slade. "That's the look I've been waiting to see!" He charged at his young opponent with a flurry of more swipes. "Give in to it! Let it take ahold of you once more!"

This time, Beast Boy transformed into a series of small critters and animals just to bounce between different sizes to make himself harder to hit; this included a lizard, a mouse, a snake, a sparrow, a frog, and finally, a spider monkey. In that latter form, he pounced onto Slade's mask as soon as he got his opening and scratched his one eye.

With this masked intruder disoriented, the Titan shrunk his mass into that of a dragonfly so he could zip out of the main room into the hallway.

"Little shit!" Slade grunted painfully as he profusely tried to rub the pain off, and then darted his eyes around the big interior to find his opponent gone. "Hiding isn't going to do anything, you know?" He taunted cooly, "Nothing you can do will save her!"

(SCENE BREAK)

Having hidden himself well away from the presumed killer, Beast Boy reverted back into his human self. Leaning his whole weight against a wall, he did his best to muffle his strained breaths while his brand new watch beeped profusely; it was because of his already taxed heart that he was forced to fall back so he could recuperate.

"Five minutes…?" He hissed. "Can't even last… _five minutes_?"

Giving in to the heaviness, he slumped to the floor and hid his face in his knees. There was no chance that any of his other friends were alive either, for if they were, they'd be rushing back to save his life by now. Any sliver of hope he had during that little exchange back there melted away with his tears. There was nothing to fight for anymore… no more friends… no more family… and no more love.

"I'm sorry, Raven." He choked out. "This is all my f—fault."

Beast Boy felt himself being labelled as the most pathetic hero in the world — no — the _universe_. He couldn't comprehend why he even bothered to defend himself against his assailant. Why didn't he just allow Slade to kill him as well? Sure, it would mean leaving their city to be tainted by the villain, but it would at least end his pain.

All he wanted now was to change into that beast again… to shred the world that so wronged him apart… until his heart would finally give way… so why wasn't that happening?

 _"Garfield…"_

Beast Boy shot up, whip-panning left and right for the source of a womanly voice that uttered his birth name; he knew who it belonged to, but it couldn't be.

"M—Mom…?"

"GARFIELD!" The voice shrieked, it resonance indicating it's origin from an different environment altogether.

Suddenly, there was dead thick silence muffling the air. There, he found himself sitting in a river, directly underneath a pounding waterfall. All around him, where were chunks of debris that look like they belonged to… a _boat —_ this was a fresh wreckage… and not just _any_ wreckage either.

"No…!" He cried, his voice mute to even his own ears. "Not here! Please… not here!"

Among the waste, he caught sight of two things he prayed not to see; there were these bodies drifting motionlessly within a red mist, their limbs, necks and spines bent in all the wrong angles where the blood was gushing out — these were his parents.

"WHY COULDN'T YOU SAVE US!?" Screamed the corpses all of a sudden; their lifeless expressions didn't change, yet their mouths animated.

"M—Mom…? Dad…?" He cowered under their glare. "Y—You told me to… you wanted me to save myself."

"EVERYONE'S DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!!"

"No!" There was no way to muffle his ears or argue; his mind was doing all the talking. "That's not true!"

"YOU'RE WORTHLESS!!"

"NO, I AM NOT!!" Beast Boy's voice returned with fury, and now he had his body back, his feet planted firmly into the dirt. As soon as he realized this, he truly began to wake up to what was going on.

"TELL US, THEN!!" Now their heads turned directly to him. "Tell us why you deserve better?" Their voices were strangely calmer now.

"Because everyone matters." He answered softly. "Everyone has a reason to be here. _I_ have a reason to be here!"

After a pregnant pause from his parents, their bodies began to twist themselves, rearranging all their mangled parts so that they were back in their rightful place; it was a bizarre yet fascinating display for the green Titan. When that was done, they stood closely together on the bed, unaffected by the river's current, as their bright colours returned, the ones he always remembered them radiating.

"Without all this… I wouldn't be the person I am today." Beast Boy continued, his audience encouraging him with a nod to go on. "Whether Raven is dead or not, I won't give up… because you gave your lives for me. I'll fight until my very last beat."

"We love you so much, Garfield Mark Logan." His mother cooed. "We have no regrets."

Just as Beast Boy extended a hand to reach for her, both of them faded from this silent world, along with the wreckage.

"No!" Beast Boy cried again. "Don't leave!"

It was too late. In a blink, he was back in the hall where he hid himself. Patting himself to make sure he wasn't still dreaming, he got off the floor in a hurry, recapped everything that transpired and took off back in the direction of the common room where he left Slade hanging; he wasn't going to cower in a corner anymore.

(SCENE BREAK)

Returning to the common room, his opponent was no longer in the room — he could still be searching for him back in the hall, or worse, he might have escaped.

Either way, he kept his guard up as he meandered to the very spot where Slade mailed him Raven's _supposed_ head. No longer could he smell her fresh blood, nor her deathly odour that should have been steaming with it.

Instead, there laid a big round watermelon, the same one he found in the fridge, by his feet, still uncut yet strewn like garbage.

"Dude!" He cheered, momentarily forgetting where he was. "We were gonna eat that!"

His heart was putting itself back together, his body being cleansed with relief. His instincts were correct; it wasn't Raven's head that he saw, but rather some kind of twisted illusion caused by that apparent mosquito bite earlier.

Raven had to be _alive_.

"Disappointing." The changeling spun into his combat stance once more as he faced Slade coming out of the doorway, his arms folded in contempt. "Never trust a former patient."

"What did you do to me?" He demanded with a renewed fighting spirit.

Slade took out what appeared to be a poison dart and spiked it onto the floor between them, its needle end piercing the carpet.

"That mosquito bite was actually a dab of fear toxin I borrowed from an old doctor back in Gotham."

"You _drugged_ me?"

"It was supposed to drive you mad with your worst fears." The masked man unsheathed his swords yet again. "Clearly, I underestimated your conviction."

"What were you planning anyway?" Right then, it dawned on him. "You wanted me to draw out the beast, didn't you?"

"Aren't you the cunning detective?"

"Why?"

" _Why?_ " Slade scoffed. "Do you really think I'll just lay down my whole plan in front of you?"

"I guess not."

Ultimately, Beast Boy held his ground as Slade charged in for another attack, this time with unbridled aggression. The changeling dodged each one of his lethal swipes, smirking at that fact that he foiled the villain's plan once more.

"Is your eye still sore?" The young man taunted.

"Don't get cocky, brat!"

Capitalising on the hero's overconfidence, Slade spotted his exposed chest and nailed that area with a quick knee, followed by a roundhouse that flung the green shapeshifter over the lounge and onto their round coffee table.

Splayed on his back, Beast Boy took a second two to recover from the ringing headache. By then, Slade was standing above him, ready to deliver the killing stroke.

First, he thrust one of his swords through the Titan's shoulder, nailing him to the table. Beast Boy bit back his agony as he glared up at his enemy, ready to take his next blow. To mock his inconvenience, the villain stalled yet again to share some more words.

"I was wondering, by the way, whether you and Raven were becoming an _item_. You two looked very close." He raised the hilt of his sword up, his blade arrowed over Beast Boy's chest. "I guess it's always the opposites who attract."

"Of all the last words you could say to me… _that's_ what you pick?" Beast Boy's sense of humour found its way back to him, despite this dire predicament.

"Oh, don't worry… once I kill you, I'll make sure she finds her way to you in the afterlife."

Beast Boy's grin turned into a snarl; if there was one thing he could no longer tolerate, it was anyone threatening Raven.

"Okay, Slade… you want the beast so badly?"

Slade thrust his blade down onto the youngest member of the Team he so despised, but instead of its tip piercing through his heart like it was supposed to, it was caught in a death-hold by the changeling's other remaining hand — this caused the assassin to widen his eye into a disc almost. Below him, he saw a face he could no longer recognize from all his previous battled beforehand — all there was left of the supposedly innocent jokester was carnivorous bloodlust.

"YOU GOT IT!"

(TO BE CONTINUED)

 **Author's Note: Many of you probably saw this coming already. I feel bad for leaving you all with a brutal cliffhanger last time. We're not yet out of the woods, though. If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review and stay tuned for the next chapter, however long that will take.**

 **Adrinsane: Glad you caught on!**


	9. Chapter 9 - There’s More

**Chapter 9**

"I have just about _had it_ with this damn chameleon!"

The rest of the Teen Titans were bounding all over Jump City, having spent the last several hours trying to chase down the mysterious white shapeshifting monster, the same one that had been eluding them since the team returned after their battle against the Brotherhood of Evil.

Starfire flew over next to Robin as he perched over the edge of a tall building they were currently stationed on. "Perhaps it is best if we call it for today."

"No." Robin was ever the stubborn one. "We're this close, I know it!"

"But you are tired." She pointed out politely. "You need to rest."

Cyborg joined their conversation. "Maybe if we'd let Beast Boy come along, our job might have been easier." Robin turned to his older teammate with a scowl. "I'm just sayin', because he does have that canine nose."

With a sigh, Robin relented his frustration and stepped away from the ledge to further this discussion.

Raven stood apart from the trio, for she couldn't care less; all she wanted was to go home and sleep, as well as check on Beast Boy.

Shutting them out, she pressed her temples with her fingers to focus her mind back to the tower; she had been doing this frequently during the early hours of their mission just to make sure that he's okay.

What she found back there was anything _but_ tranquil.

What made it way into their tower in their absence was a ballerina of panic, despair... and _carnal_ intent.

"Beast Boy's in trouble!" She blurted just as the words wrote themselves in her head.

"What!?"

The sorceress whipped to Cyborg with an alarming flare in her eyes.

"Check his heart rate!" She snapped commandingly.

"Oh, shit! Right!"

The hulking machine of a man scrambled to obey her while mentally slapping himself for not doing a better job at keeping tabs on him; everyone else was too busy being hellbent on trying to take down that elusive creature.

"Oh, God!"

The whole team gathered to see Beast Boy's heart rate on his monitor rising like a jagged mountain slope.

"Beast Boy!" Starfire gasped.

"Our _road runner's_ gonna have to wait." Cyborg remarked, hoping with a side glance that their leader will agree.

Thankfully, Robin gave him the nod, and without another word, they were off.

Raven, on the other hand, was far ahead of the others already, having worn all her patience to wait around for their decision. She jetted high above the public monuments like they were _miniature_ models.

"Hang on!"

She could feel it... his beast... his vigor... his lifeforce — time was evaporating in every blink.

"Don't do it, Beast Boy!"

(SCENE BREAK)

Slade could see the fire brewing inside this animal of a young man; he didn't know whether to be thrilled or frightened, so he settled with caution.

With his blade still in his fingers, Beast Boy rose up from the table, his devilish grin spreading while his lean frame bulked up, tearing yet another set of clothes like they were restraints.

Within a minute, Slade was eclipsed in the beast's shadow — he couldn't deny the chills surging through his body, being this close to his transformation.

Reacting quickly, Slade proceeded to slash the beast with his other free sword — what he didn't count on was the blade getting snared in its _teeth._ The cold metal shattered between its jaws, shards scattering all over the table and floor like _glass_.

Dumbfounded, the masked villain followed up by kicking both his feet against its enormous chest to launch himself away, still with his remaining sword in hand, and landing back in the empty area where the ruined watermelon laid.

The beast felt no need to rush as it maliciously licked its teeth at him — it wanted to _savor_ this.

"That's _one_ way to use your mouth in battle, I suppose." Slade couldn't help but quip. "Looks like this'll be fun, after all."

Echoing its roar throughout the building one last time, the beast threw itself towards its opponent to engage in their final round.

For a human, he was rather fast as he narrowly dodged more of his attacks when he could help it.

"Yes!" He hissed to this animal in delight. "This is what I've been looking for! Don't fight what you've always been!"

While his armor took plenty of nicks from those feral claws, the criminal mastermind came back with some clean cuts across the beast's sides — as much as those attacks drew blood, it served to add more fuel to its rage as well.

With a lightning-fast backfist, Slade was flung across the hall, his back slamming against a concrete wall and leaving a web if a crack — it wind almost left him completely.

Catching his balance, the beast prowled up to him with a grin that sheened in the backlight from the windows. For a moment, it paused to look at its fresh wounds and spoon a bit of it on its finger to _inspect_ it.

Following its silent introspection, was a baritone chuckle... like it was _amused_ by this.

It was at this moment that Slade came to a sinking realization — for once, he was the one being toyed with.

"What's so funny?" He asked the animal, wondering if Beast Boy could somehow hear him in there.

Of course, the creature didn't provide any answer; all it did was lick the blood clean off before continuing to close their distance.

Slade wasn't going to just lay where he was and wait for this monster to pick him out of that spot. Struggling back to his feet, he gripped his sword with both hands ever tighter as he pointed the blade at his enemy.

"Perhaps... _another_ dose of fear... will do the job." He could barely form a sentence.

Slade waited until the beast charged at him so he could dodge at the right moment; he vaulted over this green hulk as he crashed into the wall to hit him with a series of rapid strokes all over the rest of his body.

The beast cried out to his flesh being torn open and scrambled to thrust his opponent away, only to realize that its movements were getting slower, its muscles requiring more effort to use.

"Running out of steam, already?" His opponent remarked while twirling his sharp weapon at a safer distance.

Ultimately, the beast collapsed onto one knee, one hand barely supporting his weight while the other clawed at its throbbing chest — it breathed _laboriously_ now.

"I'll admit, you put a better fight than Robin could ever give me." Casually, he walked back over to his downed enemy, towering over his hunched form. "Quite the late bloomer, aren't you?"

The beast looked up again to lock eyes with contempt as his longtime nemesis prepared to deliver the killing blow for the second time.

"No dicking around, this time."

In that split second, however, the beast lifted the corner of its mouth into a sly smirk, took out its claws from its chest... and slashed upwards between his legs.

For the first time in his life, Slade, a usually monotone individual, let out an ear-piercing shriek as he staggered back to try and hold in the blood spewing out from his _groinal_ region.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!!" He wailed, searing in unimaginable pain.

"WORST IS... YET TO COME!!"

Slade froze, utterly awestruck at those booming words.

 _Did that thing just... speak??_

Everything turned black for the single-eyed criminal as the monster unravelled on him with fathomless speed.

(SCENE BREAK)

She could feel it all like heat waves radiating from a microwave... the _carnage —_ dare she almost desired to _share_ it.

 _What did you do?_

Arriving shortly, Raven phased right through the window of the tower's top floor to stand amidst a ravaged battleground in their own living room.

But that didn't compare to the truly grim sight.

Right over by the door to the hallway stood the beast, scarred and sheeted in more red than green, standing over what appeared to be a bronze humanoid robot.

Taking a better glance around his back, the empath threw a gasp that hooked the animal's attention over to her.

There, sprawled in a bloody heap, was not a mangled robot at all — it was a person, clad in armor, his mask broken off to reveal an aged man with an eyepatch.

" _Slade??_ " She couldn't believe it. "H—How...?"

That question would have to be answered later; deducing what had just occured, she now had to tend to her morphed friend once more.

"Beast Boy?" She stuttered, and then corrected herself. " _Garfield_."

As soon the beast recognized the sorceress, his anger dissolves, carried away like dust in the wind.

Staying on her toes, Raven inched over, keeping both her hands in front as to be ready for anything.

That was when the beast attempted for form yet another word with its inhuman mouth. At first, it sounded like another growl, but as it repeated that _R_ sound, it made sense.

"R—Raven..." It finally said — _he_ finally said.

This restored her confidence to fly over to her friend. Holding his enormous frame tenderly, the horrific reminder struck her.

"Garfield, you have to change back! Now!" She took his goblin-featured face. "Please! If you don't, you'll die!"

Her communicator buzzed shortly, and she answered before Robin could even ask.

"I'm here with Beast Boy! Our tower's been attacked!"

"We're almost there—!"

Raven hung up immediately, cutting off his sentence so she could get right back to what she was doing.

"L—Love... you." Beast Boy suddenly confessed.

Thrown back at first, Raven replied with a faint smile. "I know."

Unfortunately, this little moment they shared was cut off when the beast hitched and gargled without warning as if a knife had been run through him.

"No!" She realized.

The beast timbered onto its chest at her feet. She hurried to roll him over with her powers to see the abject fear in those eyes that reflected her own.

"Stay with me!" She cried out. "Please, Garfield!"

A green hand paw reached up to her face at a dragging pace, and slowly morphed back into a human hand by the time it reached her wet cheek — in a matter of seconds, Beast Boy had returned to her.

"I'm s—sorry..." He croaked.

"Come on, don't say that!" Raven softened her voice, keeping his hand there so it wouldn't fall back down. "Just... just stay conscious, alright. The others will be here soon."

Again, Beast Boy gagged, the agony complicating his breathing — any second now, his heart could _fail_.

Raven wasn't going to let that occur.

Arranging him properly, the sorceress rubbed her palms together to summon white flames that brewed from her fair skin.

"Please, Azarath, let this work." She prayed, and then plunged those hands deep inside his torso to begin healing his organ.

His heart felt like an overstretched waterballoon that could pop right now.

Shaking that grim thought off, her eyes fell back on her friend's face, now unconscious; she wasn't expecting her magic to fix the problem, but rather to add another plaster to hold him together until she could find a better solution.

Raven was so absorbed in saving _Garfield_ that she barely acknowledged her other teammates when they finally arrived.

"Don't die, please." She begged. "There's more..."

(TO BE CONTINUED)

 **Author's Note: That's it for another while until I find time to update the next chapter, and I'm sorry for taking forever.**

 **Please leave a review, thank you!**


	10. Chapter 10 - Confession

**Chapter 10**

"Beast Boy banged him up real good, but... he should be able pull through."

"Good. I want him alive so I can find out what he wants."

"But why now after so many years?"

Robin scowled as he stood over his longtime nemesis, his arms folded anxiously; it wasn't unusual for Slade to come back from the _dead_.

But never before had they seen their oldest enemy stripped of his mask and armor completely. Instead, there laid a grey-haired man, beaten and shredded within an inch of his life.

Here he was, treated and chained to a medical bed, strapped to some high-tech monitors and IVs in their deepest holding cell.

"Still can't believe he has a pulse." Remarked Cyborg. "And considering that B almost _feminized_ him..."

Starfire was the only who looked upon this foe with a sliver of pity, mainly due to his injuries.

"Perhaps Beast Boy went a bit too far... dealing with Slade?" The Tamaranian felt guilty once those words came out.

"It wasn't him, Star." Robin turned to hold her shoulders. "It was the beast that did this."

Looking at him with glistened eyes, she flashed her appreciation; there was a time once where he wouldn't have believed that.

"Besides, if he really went all the way, he would have actually killed Slade."

Cyborg tightened his fingers around his folded arms. "Still, that doesn't help his condition." He turned away from the cell and hung his head. "He almost _died_ this time."

The other two Titans turned to their bulky friend with worry.

"But he can be saved... right?" Starfire questioned.

He nodded, though not as surely as she hoped. "Only if he avoids danger, or controls that beast... which he clearly can't."

"We have Raven, don't we?" Robin stated, hoping this will restore some hope.

"She can only do so much with her magic."

"There has to be something we can do for our friend!"

"I'm doing the best I can!" Cyborg cried, finally giving in to his stress. "But that's it!"

Before he could lose his cool completely, he stormed out, leaving the distressed Tamaranian with their leader.

Starfire tried to follow after him and apologize, but was stopped.

"Let him go, Star." Robin spoke softly. "He's just as stressed as we are. Just give him some space."

The alien princess relented and spun around to fall on her lover's shoulder. Robin held her ever so tenderly.

"I have a thought, Star." A sad realization hit the masked hero. "He won't like it, though."

"Will he still be okay?"

"Yes, of course."

She pulled away from him, still concerned. "Then what is it that we must do?"

Robin hung his head solemnly. "We'll have to convince him to retire."

Starfire widened her eyes — she didn't know what that word meant exactly, but she realized it had something to do with surrendering one's duty.

Robin continued. "If he keeps up this superhero life, it could definitely kill him."

"But where will Beast Boy go??" She began to fear the worst of abandoning their friend.

"He'll stay with us, Star." He assured. "Don't you worry about that."

Finally, it all clicked in the Tamaranian's head. "So he can stay with us?" Robin nodded. "But he can no longer resume his crimefighting activities."

Robin didn't need to say anything afterwards; they shared in this deafening silence.

(SCENE BREAK)

Once again, the tower had been deathly silent and out of order, even though most of the mess was cleaned up by now. A dark aura filled every room, unwilling to settle to ease the minds of its settlers.

Raven especially couldn't find any sleep, not as long as she was unsure of Beast Boy's wellbeing — she struggled to do _anything_ anymore.

Whenever she would try to meditate, her powers would spark out of control like a livewire.

Whenever she would try to make tea, her hands tended to lose their grip on the cup more often, and she would either scald herself or end up having to wipe the kitchen floor.

What could she do?

How could she help?

Was there really nothing she could do for him?

The empath couldn't control her rapid paces through the halls, the common room, the rooftop or even her own room.

All this stress was going to _compress_ her.

With every chance she had, she would pass by the medical bay just to look over at her green friend for a bit before carrying on — she couldn't summon the courage to actually sit in there with him in that grim state.

 _How much longer can you keep this up?_

"Raven?" She turned to see Cyborg warily approaching her.

"What is it?" She replied.

"Nothing. I was just passing by. How are you holding up?"

In the past, Raven would have just brushed off a question like that with a bored _I'm fine_ ; she was now beyond that.

"Not well." She moaned dryly. "We could save an entire city from a criminal mastermind... save many other superheroes from the Brotherhood of Evil... and even save the world from my own father... and yet... we're almost powerless to help our own friend."

Cyborg sighed heavily, but decided to cut Raven some slack. "I know how much he means to you."

This time, Raven says nothing as she casts her gaze to the floor. Cyborg knew that look on the sorceress all too well.

"You gotta stop beating yourself up! Neither of us had any idea that Slade would just turn up and invade our home."

"But I had the choice to stay!" She cried. "Instead, I left him alone!"

"Raven..."

She clenched her fists and narrowed her eyes with fury. "Whatever it takes, I won't lose him!" Her hair rose to her swelling aura. "I'll find a spell that can cure him, however long it takes!"

When her surge settled, Raven stepped forward to wrap her arms around his metallic waist. Shocked by her endearing display, he noneheless held her like she was a little girl again; his towering size helped.

"Tell him how you feel." He said quite abruptly.

He then pulled away and left the stunned empath to contemplate her next move; she was now on her own with nothing standing between her and Beast Boy.

What was stopping her?

Fixing her hair, she entered the medical room and grabbed a stool to sit beside his resting form.

Her mouth empty of words at first, she just stared at his face, his last words to her looping in her head.

What could she really say?

With her silk fingers, she ran them through his hair and over his facial features; he stirred slightly to her touch, signs of life still apparent.

"Can you hear me, Garfield?" Finally, some words formed. "You can't keep doing this, okay?" She inhaled shakily. "You're such an _asshole_ , saying such a thing to me just before dropping dead like that."

Beast Boy hummed faintly, but it was still unclear if he was listening or not.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there." Her throat swelled, eyes watering. "We're all doing our best to help." Her heart ached with pain. "I used to think I was alone... that no one could help me." She moves her hand to take his. "You never gave up on me, no matter how many times I tried to push you away."

The silent ambience of the room and the beeping of his heart monitor filled each of her pauses, and it was then that she remembered something that she brought along.

She fumbled under her cloak until she found that memento and placed it in that same hand she was holding.

"Remember this?"

It was his quarter, the same one he gave to her before they battled Trigon's army.

"I'm not sure it was the luck of this coin, but since I've had it, things worked out for me. Maybe it should work out for you as well, I don't know."

Soon, she got fed up with this deafening silence and decided to do something that one would consider radical for her character.

Pushing her stool away, Raven unclipped her cloak, letting it sink to the floor, and climbed onto the bed to nestle with him. She draped an arm over to once again rest her palm over his heart, with his coin.

In this intimate position, the sorceress felt sleep overtaking her, but she didn't mind in this case.

"I'm feeling something too, Garfield." She whispered ever softly. "I can't say what it is, but... I know it's something else."

A faint smile peered on the changeling's face, yet his eyes remained shut.

"This shield I always put up... I just don't know anymore. It seems like you've broken through. It scares yet thrills me."

She leaned her forehead into his, her gaze longing.

"But nothing will happen unless you wake up... okay?"

After another pause, a thrill went up her spine when she saw him nod ever so slightly.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

 **Author's Note: After three intense chapters, I felt like slowing things down again to give you readers a chance to breathe. I won't make any apologies this time for taking so long. My life's become very busy now. Where will we go from here? Stand by for next time, and if you enjoyed this chapter, feel free to leave your thought and questions. Thank you!**


	11. Chapter 11 - Lost Existence

**Chapter 11**

 _Deep within the jungles of Africa, under the glittery stars untouched by the pollution of light, a young boy sat among his peers around a campfire, its orange flames dancing and reflecting off their eyes of wonder._

 _Pacing around this naked fire was a familiar-looking woman, clearly their chaperone for this evening. Her hands swam through this hue as she proceeded to tell these children about another legend._

 _"The green phoenix." She announced, and then motioned to her audience. "Any of you ever heard of it?"_

 _They all shook, all but one, the young boy, who raised his hand to sky as high as his shoulder would allow._

 _"Well, Garfield, would you like to step up and tell our friends the story?"_

 _He recoiled with just as much haste, bunching his shoulders in embarrassment while all eyes shifted to him._

 _"Come on, I never raised you to be shy."_

 _"But, mom..."_

 _"Come on," her voice suddenly turned mischievous, "or I'll bring you up here and tickle you until you submit."_

 _The other children laughed while young Garfield, pursing his lips, eventually got up with great reluctance and tippy-toed his way to where his mother was standing._

 _With a pat, she sat down to take his place as one of the listeners and waited encouragingly for him to begin._

 _With a few deep breaths, the boy managed to level the beating in his chest and laced his fingers to begin his tale._

 _"There... are stories about the green phoenix that sound strange, even compared to other well-known legends."_

 _He swallowed a lump while his mother nodded him to keep going._

 _"There is one story about a monster that it battles... one that can shapeshift into anything it wants at will. It comes at a terrible price, however."_

 _The childrens' smiles fade out, much like candle lights in the cold._

 _"The monster attacks people, yet is said to be misunderstood. The phoenix is always watching over it, but is somehow unable to do anything."_

 _The confidence grew inside Garfield with the words he was gathering._

 _"As a person, it begged for help, but it never came until one day, when an angry mob attacked his home."_

 _A tinge of sorrow overcomes everyone with this next part._

 _"The monster, as a person, was killed... but only from that fire did the green phoenix emerge — it was reborn from its ashes."_

 _The orange fire rose, and its hue faded into a glowing emerald green as his story escalated to its conclusion._

 _"One life ended. The curse was lifted. A new life began."_

 _With that, the scene blurred out, rinsed by this same phoenix fire when..._

... Beast Boy awoke to find himself facing the ceiling of the medical bay.

Squinting to its blinding lights, he veers his neck sideways to gaze upon the sleeping figure of a pale sorceress.

As he brought a finger to stroke Raven's blue hair strands, his mind looped the words that spoke to him while he was half-conscious... the one about her shield that he supposedly broke through.

"No, Rae." He muttered in response to that vague memory, "I've just scratched the surface."

(SCENE BREAK)

When he could finally walk, Beast Boy wandered down to see Robin in his quarters — or in this case, _stormed_ his way there.

Finding his door, the changeling banged his fist against the metal until it whooshed open with haste.

"Yes, Beast Boy?" Answered the masked hero, standing right before him.

"Are you out of your _fucking_ mind!? Keeping Slade, our worst enemy. in _here_... of all places!?"

Robin sighed bitterly. "Starfire told you, I'm guessing."

"You should know by now that she isn't the ideal safekeeper of secrets, Robin."

"I know!"

Robin exited his doorway and proceeded doen the hall at a mulling pace, his teammate keeping on his tail.

"I understand your concern, but this tower has the highest security measure in Jump City." he stated, matter of factly.

"That's been broken into by robots, creep grannies, and was used as a throne by an interdimensional demon, might I add."

This made Robin scowl some more, but not really out of annoyance to his rant; the animal-shifter's nose picked up on this.

"What is it?" he asked in a calmer tone.

Finally, Robin stopped and faced his own shadow on the floor.

"There's something I need discuss with you about..." he turned to face the green Titan with a more saddened expression, "... not as your leader or teammate..." to the changeling's bewilderment, he watched as the team leader removed his mask to look him in the eyes with his true face, "... but as your friend, Dick Grayson to Garfield Logan."

Beast Boy — _Garfield_ — held his breath, expecting to hear the worst from whatever he was about to hear.

"Cyborg and I have talked about your condition, and what it means for your occupation as a superhero."

"W—What...?"

Already, both were dreading where this conversation was going, Grayson forcing himself to continue.

"We talked about you... considering retirement from hero work."

Garfield was thrown back, his face darkening out of dismay. "You wanna... kick me out of the Titans??"

"No!" Dick hurried to assure, "Don't get the wrong idea!"

"Then what is the idea?" Garfield spat, "To put me on leave so I don't _burden_ this precious team?"

"Damn it, no!" Dick shouted, "We don't want to risk you DYING!"

"And what about you, risking our team's lives by keeping Slade here?"

"Don't change the subject, Garfield! It's not your concern!"

Right then, Garfield made a face as he took a step back from his friend that caused the latter to mentally slap himself; it was a face that spoke, 'Oh, I get it.'

 _Great choice of words, Dick._

With simmering resentment, Garfield turned and walked away.

Watching him leave, Dick put his mask back on to become Robin once more.

Why couldn't he have chosen _better_ words?

He walked off in the other direction, presumably to beat himself over this.

"I'd rather have you alive and hate me..." he whispered to the now empty hallway, "Anything's better than... what could be at any moment."

(SCENE BREAK)

Much later, Beast Boy sat in the common room while his thumbs worked automatically on his game controller.

While it was usual that he was playing alone, it was _unusual_ of him to lack any enjoyment in his favourite racing game; despite being in the lead on the highest difficulty for once, this achievement was rendered hollow.

Once his racecar zoomed first place through the finish line, he turned off his game and leaned back to massage the soreness with his fingers.

"Aw, man! I wanted to play!"

Beast Boy veered over his shoulder to see Cyborg marching over to join him at the couch.

"Sorry, Cy..."

Immediately, the big man could see the downcast in his friend's sunken face and changed from his cheery vibe.

"What did he tell you?" he asked.

Beast Boy eyed him in surprise — did his half-human teammate really know _that_ well?

Clearing his throat, the changeling answered with a dry, "Yes... _that_."

Cyborg huffed a nervous sigh, knowing that he was probably going to blow up in his face as well.

To his surprise, however, his friend, rather than doing what he predicted, instead smiled up at the ceiling wistfully.

"Did you ever imagine life... after being a superhero?" he asked, and then retthought his question. "Maybe I shouldn't be asking _you_ that?"

"Why?" inquired Cyborg, raising his only eyebrow.

"You've always talked about wanting to join the _big league,_ remember?"

He nodded, though his human and robot mind was busy racing for the best possible answer to his big question.

"I never really thought of it..." he answered somberly. "I never could picture myself living a normal life due to... the way I am."

"There's always Jinx." Beast Boy remarked with a small wink.

Cyborg winced to that idea, especially when he thought back to that time in the HIVE academy.

"Nah!" he waved off, " She was never my type. Besides, she's taken already." Before his friend could bring up Bumblebee next, he slapped the topic back to its main point. "But look, I'm in no rush right now."

"Well..." Beast Boy faced away with a shudder, "I don't seem to have as much time anymore." He shut his eyes, as if to unsee this dilemma he was faced with. "What am I gonna do without you guys?"

"What are you talking about, B?" Cyborg was now confused.

"Should I leave the team, Cy?"

"Hold up, hold up!" Cyborg shot up off the couch and stood over his smaller friend with both hands on his shoulders. "We never said anything about you _leaving_!"

"Huh?" The changeling's jaw hung lopsidedly. "But you said..."

"We only talked about you discontinuing hero work." Cyborg clarified, "Just 'cause you gotta quit being a hero, doesn't mean you gotta quit the _family_."

Still, Beast Boy was speechless.

"Who else am I gonna be playing games with? Robin? _Raven_??" Right as the topic shifted to that particular sorceress, a sly grim stretched across the man's face. "Speaking of which..."

Unable to keep himself together, Beast Boy cracked up in tears, his trademark hyena giggle echoing all around the room.

There was the _B_ he knew best. Just like that, he was himself again, even if only momentarily.

(SCENE BREAK)

Deep within her own territory, Raven was buried in all her books, having locked herself away so she could research whatever spell she could use to help Beast Boy, if not _cure_ him.

Page after page, hour after hour in between tea breaks, she had yet to come up with something, and it was thawing her patience.

Overcome with stress, she clapsed her moist face, threatening to lose control when the wind, caused by her powers, flipped open a page titled 'Nursing Dove' in runic.

Picking up that book, she cooled down to read its description — paragraph after paragraph, the frown disappeared, replaced by a glimmer of hope as she absorbed this information.

 _This could help him._

Shutting the hard cover, she hugged it to her chest, clinging to perhaps her only hope so far.

(SCENE BREAK)

"How many years have we kept this going? How much time have you had to think since you escaped us last time? You've been gone longer that you usually would have... and yet... here we are."

Here was Robin, sitting on a stool next to where his arch nemesis laid, hunching over him beneath a singular cone light.

"Why did you decide to come back, _now_?"

The comatose man couldn't answer.

"Why couldn't you have just disappeared for good? Is there something about us that you just can't keep away from?"

Robim stared into this withered old man's face, unrecognizable to him even now.

"The funny thing is... you're smarter than this. So why would think to break into our home?"

As more silence filled the dark ambience, Robin settled back, knowing he wouldn't get answers during this period.

"Sometimes, it's crossed my mind too — why don't I just kill you right now? It'd be easy, wouldn't it? But then I wouldn't get the answers I need from you, would I, Slade?"

Concluding his reason for being here, Robin got up to leave.

"It's what _he_ taught me." With that last statement, he was gone.

Left all alone once more, the crippled man's fingers began to twitch ever so slightly.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

 **Author's Note: Yes, I know... it's been FOREVER! I had to take a long break to build my new business. I now come back to this story with a clear endgame in mind. Please have mercy and leave a review, thanks for reading.**


	12. Chapter 12 - Nursing Dove

**Chapter 12**

It didn't take long, soon after Raven took Beast Boy by the arm and carted him into _her_ room, for rumors to begin swarming the tower.

It all started buzzing between the three other Titans, mainly Cyborg and an ecstatic Starfire while taking turns with Robin to keep tabs on their prisoner.

Slade still had yet to wake from his 'comatose' state, and all hope was beginning to seem lost... and yet... something refused to let their team leader yield.

"I do start to believe, in fact, that Beast Boy and Raven have begun their 'making out' process in her bedroom."

The Tamaranian pulled a sunflowery grin while the big man smirked sideways.

"Yeah... who knows where that could lead?"

(SCENE BREAK)

"Woah, woah! Raven, could you slow down for a sec??"

"What's there to process?" Demanded the sorceress.

"I don't know if I'm ready to do this..." The changeling looked down, embarrassed, while she closed the distance between them on the floor where they sat.

"It's okay..." She whispered gently while brushing his face, "I'm with you all the way."

Once he smiled assuredly, Raven pulled back to place her spellbook between aside.

Here, they sat in a circle that she drew, ready to perform some kind of ritual.

"Again, this won't guarantee healing you fully, but it will help." She reminded.

"Okay..." He nodded, still with uncertainty. "Where do we start?"

"Take my hands." She instructed, thrusting them out.

When he did, she laced their fingers and made sure to lock them firmly before she pulled him close so that their foreheads connected.

"Repeat after me..."

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos?" Beast Boy guessed.

Raven gave him a nod, and so they began their chant.

"What's gonna happen _exactly_?" He interrupted.

Raven held back a sigh of annoyance — this was enough to send the message for him to shut up.

 _"Azarath Metrion Zinthos."_ He began, just to make up.

And so, their voices together reverbed this mantra through her room.

 _"Azarath Metrion Zinthos..."_

 _"Azarath Metrion Zinthos..."_

 _"Azarath Metrion Zinthos..."_

This brough the changeling back to that time he and his friends had to chant this same mantra in order to save Raven from her father.

Being this close to her, Beast Boy had a bit of trouble controlling his heart rate, especially when looking into those majestic eyes, so he shut his own in order to concentrate better... _hopefully_.

Soon enough, this rhythm began to relax his mind and body, along with their unified breaths.

Ultimately, a white gleam that he could see through the trabslucency of his eyelids enveloped them — it was startling... yet... warm and embracing.

With this... their linked minds broke free...

(SCENE BREAK)

 _A grassfield, tall enough to measure one's waist, swayed to the seductive breeze under the moonlight._

 _A silhouette of a bird — a white raven — fluttered just above this plane, for it could sense something that drove its desire for discovery._

 _A simmering heat source...?_

 _Over in the distance, beyond the trees, the raven could see a glow, green as a northern light._

 _Vautling beyond those trees, it finds a small flat island in the middle of a glassy lake — there, it found the source._

 _Approaching with caution, the raven circled to make out its feathery features._

 _This wasn't the werebeast..._

 _Touching down just softly enough to avoid disturbing it, could the raven identify this creature to be a resting phoenix._

 _The green glow would rise and recede with each snore, and the white raven was awed by this magical presence._

 _With a sudden twitch, the phoenix snapped its eyes open and rose its long neck to see its unexpected guest._

 _It stood up straight, its chest outward, as it spread its wings and took off into the air immediately — the wind from its launch blew the other bird right back._

 _Now in the air, the phoenix unleashed the full extent of its glow, its swirling flames painting a mural from its trail._

 _It then paused to hover over the island to gaze down at the other bird, and raven quickly realizes it was being invited to follow._

 _Recovering shortly, the white raven ascended back into the air to join the phoenix in this aerial odyssey._

 _The sky became theirs... and theirs alone, as they danced, peformed spirals and loops that mirrored one another._

 _Stars turned into fireflies that danced with the two._

 _The wind surrendered and flowed with their movements._

 _It was like they had single-handedly terraformed this world to make it their own._

 _But what was this...?_

 _What did this mean...?_

 _What sense did it make...?_

 _What were they to expect...?_

 _At this moment, it didn't matter all too much._

 _As they joined the tips of their wings, letting the bent gravity do the work for them, their beaks were almost touching as they locked eyes._

 _Their souls were becoming absorbed into each other, they could both feel._

 _When the raven lowered its longing gaze to its chest, there it found a gaping hole where its heart should be — it knew right then._

 _For its life to be preserved, the raven needed to give a part of itself to fill that hole._

 _And so, while their heads touched and wrapped around each ither, their chests touched and shortly melded together._

 _Here, the phoenix felt its hollow area being filled by the raven's essence, flowing into him like a flush of warm bathwater._

 _They had bonded, both physically and spiritually, the raven's aura plugging in its opening to prevent the phoenix from coming undone._

 _With this, their powers combined and expanded, taking over the oceanic blue sky..._

(SCENE BREAK)

Back in Raven's room, both and empath and the changeling were still wrapped against each other, both panting and sticky with sweat.

"W—What... happened?" Beast breathed into her ear.

Raven cleared her throat before she pulled away to answer. "Honestly... even I don't know. But whatever it was, it must have worked."

"How do you know?"

"Feel your chest."

She guided Beast Boy's hand to that frontal area where he could feel this cool fluid swirling beneath.

"Woah!" He perked. "What is this? It feels... weird yet comfortable... does that make any sense...?"

"Strangely enough... it does."

Now he was more confused, so to explain better, Raven touched her own chest. "I've injected a part of my essence into your body to safeguard your heart."

"What? Like a force field?"

"You can look at it that way," she nodded, "but more importantly, this spell I put on you allows us to monitor each other's health and act accordingly."

"Isn't this pretty much just an upgrade from Cyborg's heart monitor?"

"Not exactly."

"Oh?"

"More like, if I get sick or hurt, you'll sense it right away. In this case, this is so I can support _you_."

"I see..." He nodded, still trying to understand fully. "What you're telling me is that you basically tethered our souls together... kinda like sharing."

Raven sighed. "Yes."

"Wow..." Beast Boy narrowed his eyes with a smirk, "I've never been so flattered."

Raven did her best to hide her embarrassment.

" Speaking of which," he continued, "when are we gonna _tell_ the others?"

"Tell them what?"

"You know..." He cocked his head to press the hint.

"When I'm ready, Gar."

Beast Boy lowered his gaze, mildly disappointed — it's not that Raven didn't want anyone to _know_ , but it's that she didn't feel like facing the amount of attention that would come with their discovery.

"Oh, well." To her relief, he let it go.

But there was something else, she could sense. There was something else on his mind, something he looked like he was trying to put into words.

And so, she asked, "What's on your mind?"

To her amusement, he didn't bother lying. "Everything from the beast, my childhood, and _Slade_."

"And?"

Beast Boy paused for a minute, took in a deep breath, and swallowed. "I might need a vacation."

This left Raven stunned. "Vacation?"

"I need to get away from all this..." He started caging his fingers around his scalp. "Maybe Robin's right."

"About what?"

"Maybe I _should_ consider retiring."

Raven's chest began to peform a carousel. "But that doesn't mean you have to _leave_."

"What am I gonna do here?? Just sit around on my ass while my friends are out busting theirs to protect the city??"

"No..."

"Then what, Raven?" He was seriously asking her. "Outside of being a hero, I'm just a bum who sits on the couch and plays videogames." He voice began to display pain. "I don't have Robin's leadership or Cyborg's brain — not even _half_ of it."

"Garfield..."

"I certainly don't have your wisdom. All I am is the class clown."

That did it — without thinking, Raven grabbed his face and smacked her lips against his, shutting him up entirely. He froze while she then pinned him to the floor, her arms trapping him from moving.

Quickly, he surrendered to her kiss and proceeded to return the gesture, wrangling his arms around her waist to tighten each other.

Her lips were soft and warm.

Finally, she pulled away for air and gazed down on him intently, the silhouette of her face shadowing him completely.

"What about me?" she purred, "Am I not good enough a reason for you to stay?"

Beast Boy stared back for a moment before he pulled her back down for another kiss.

This time, it was getting intense. Hands clawed at each other, the temptation to undress each other apparent — they did _not_ want to separate.

Knock! Knock!

The sudden sound from Raven's door ripped them apart almost instantaneously — it was like someone fired a cold hose at them.

Beast Boy sat up, half-dazed, while Raven hastened to fix her hair in front of the mirror and clip back on her cape that somehow ended up on the floor beside them.

"Yo, Raven." It was Cyborg's voice, loud and clear. "You in there?"

"Need me to hide?" quipped the changeling.

Raven paused for a second before answering. "No. Just fix your clothes."

Grinning, he stood up just to do that.

After another minute, Raven's door slid sideways, and there in front of Cyborg stood Raven... and _Beast Boy_ over her shoulder — the man's eyes, both his human and mechanical one, widened into saucers.

"Yes?" They replied straightforwardly in unison.

Cyborg was speechless for was felt like an hour to him before he remembered what he came to tell her.

"Robin needs you in five minutes." His words came out flat.

" _Five minutes?"_ Beast Boy questioned.

"Yeah." He turned to leave in a hurry. "Robin might need your help to tap into Slade's mind."

"I'll be there." Raven responded just before he was gone.

More silence filled the hall until Beast Boy finally cracked in laughter, Raven blushing in further embarrassment.

"Did you notice that you were wearing your cape inside out?"

When Raven didn't answer, he laughed even harder, only to wear himself out soon after.

In the back of her mind, Raven had wonder whether Beast Boy really changed his mind about leaving or simply stalled with that kiss — they were certainly going to cross this bridge later.

(SCENE BREAK)

Shortly later, Beast Boy was back in the restroom, alone to drown in his thoughts in front of the sink.

While rinsing his hands, he mulled over what he should do, what the next course of their plan was supposed to be.

Besides him and Raven becoming official, he still couldn't any other reason to stay on the team, as grateful as he was.

His heart condition, while now being sustained, didn't feel like it was going to be kept at bay for long; he just knew it will return, along with his beast.

When he looked down, he saw to his horror that his hands had turned crimson, blood draining with the water in the sink.

He flung back with a gasp, only to look back at the clean ceramic — the water was clean again... as if there wasn't any blood at all.

Peering into his hands now, they were simply glistening green under the ceiling lights.

Was he starting to hallucinate again, or are his fears now turning into visions?

(TO BE CONTINUED)

 **Author's Note: I know it's been awhile... again. Life is getting a little rough at the moment, but I will always update when I can.**

 **fatwhiteguy: Hahaha! I know how you feel, and I apologize.**

 **Thanks for your patience, and I look forward to reading your reviews!**


	13. Chapter 13 - Dawson

**Chapter 13**

Back in the highly surveillanced medical bay, four of Titans stood around the resting form of their mask less nemesis while their sorceress, Raven, hovered her fingers over the old man's temples; her plan was to enter Slade's mind.

In the back of her own mind, Fear was spinning anxiously, wondering why the hell Beast Boy wasn't here with them as well.

"You okay, Raven?" Robin had to ask, noticing her struggle yet unintentionally breaking her concentration.

When she scowled at the leader, that was his queue to suck in his lips.

Nonetheless, I didn't take long for her to get back into the flow.

She waved her hands and began her mantra.

 _"Azarath Metrion Zinthos."_ Vague images started swirling in her head, its motion leading her deep down into its darkest pit.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

Raven could then hear voices, ones that couldn't belong to the memories of this madman... could it?

These sounded like the voices of a caring mother, a wife... and an innocent _child_.

 _"Azarath Metrion Zinthos."_

Finally, darkness caved in, and Slade's skeletons were soon to be revealed.

(SCENE BREAK)

 _Her first memory breach brought her back into the ruined household of the Logans - - she was back in Garfield's old home... but why?_

 _Looking down as the wood-tiled floor with a lone eye, she realized that she was in fact Slade upon seeing his elongated shadow stretching from his cladding footsteps in the corridor._

 _What was he of all people doing in here?_

 _When Slade entered Garfield's room, stepping over his strewn belongings, he idled in front of his bed for what seemed like a whole minute until he sat down on the edge and rested his masked face in his hands._

 _Raven could pick up vibes of confusion, reluctance, and despair - - what could a man like Slade despair over?_

 _It wasn't until she watched his plated arm reach for Garfield's family photo that she got her first clue._

 _As she and Slade gazed into this broken frame of the boy and his parents, a tsunami of sadness compelled the two._

 _Why would he be sad over this family, unless...?_

 _In the frame's reflection, she could see his other hand lift towards the chin of his mask, as if to remove it, only to recoil._

 _He stood back up again and placed the picture back where he found it before leaving._

 _A jolting realization nearly shocked Raven out of Slade's head - - he was here long before the incident._

 _The reason she knew this was because she and Beast Boy, along with his books, had taken that same picture back to their tower as well._

(SCENE BREAK)

Beast Boy was on his way to accompanying his friends when his animal instincts sensed something off about their tower... something they'd missed.

As much as he wanted to be with the others, Raven especially, his gut told him that he should investigate this instead.

(SCENE BREAK)

 _This second memory, Raven pieced together, took place farther back in the past as she found the criminal mastermind dragging his feet through the murky rivers of a forest._

 _It was late in the night, and she could feel all the bruises and cuts on his body weighing him down - - these were clearly the injuries he had received from their final battle against Trigon._

 _Here we was now, deprived his strength and will to fight any longer._

 _Eventually surrendering, Slade allowed his aching muscles to relent, and he fell to the ground, his armor imprinted against the cold dirt._

 _"What's the point, anyway?" He murmured._

 _Just before he let his last eye droop shut, a light in the distance shimmer through his eyelashes before he passed out, expecting death's grace to carry him down._

(SCENE BREAK)

 _What neither Slade nor Raven expected was for him to wake up inside the warmth of a cabin._

 _By some miracle... he was spared._ _Grunting, the man made no immediate attempt to get up, but he did run a hand up his torso to find bandages and stitches all over._ _When he reached his face, his eye popped when his fingers touched his bare face._ _Sitting up, he backed against the headboard just as the door swung open - - all his equipment had been stripped fromfrom him, thus, he had nothing to defend himself with_.

 _"Glad to see that you're up, finally."_

 _It was a young woman, modest as she appeared unassuming._

 _Caught of guard at first, having expected someone or something more imposing, the wounded man nonetheless remained cautious as she approached him with a tray of food._

 _"I found you in that armor, all battered up." She explained while placing the tray next to his bed. "Whoever you fought, you must have bitten off far more than you could chew."_

 _From the cool tone in this woman's voice, she didn't seem quite afraid of him, but just curious._

 _"If you had any common sense, woman, you should have left me there."_

 _The woman only smirked, unfazed one bit by his response._

 _"Maybe, but something told me I should do something."_

 _"Why?" Slade narrowed his eye. "Do I look like a wounded bird to you? Speaking of which, what was a young woman like you doing out in the forest all alone in the first place?"_

 _"I like sightseeing."_

 _"How marvellous." He retorted. "Did you wait all night long for someone like me to drop by so you can be my Florence Nightingale?"_

 _The woman sighed as she sat down on a stool that happened to idle by._

 _"Your profession doesn't make you very fond of people, does it?" Now she was smiling._

 _"Now what would make you say that?"_

 _"I don't know a whole lot about what goes on between heroes and villains, but you certainly don't look like the former."_

 _"If you knew I that to begin with, then why did you bring me into your house?" He wasn't trying to be sarcastic anymore; he was genuinely curious now._ _"For all I know, I could kill you in your sleep."_

 _"If you could kill me, I'm sure you could do it right now with your bare hands." Slade raised an eyebrow. "You could get up right now, maybe snap my neck, and limp away with all your things that I've placed in that wardrobe over there."_

 _The woman pointed over her shoulder to the wardrobe right in the corner of the room._

 _"You still didn't answer my question."_

 _"Right. I have no agenda, Slade, but I do believe in kindness towards your neighbours."_

 _Slade nearly jumped off the mattress when this woman mentioned his name, but he kept his composure._

 _With this, the woman got up to leave, but not without one last statement._

 _"Whatever you've done, you may have just been given another chance to make things right."_

 _Slade scoffed as he folded his arms. "You're more naive than a certain alien princess I know."_

 _"Whatever you say."_

 _Slade had to know one more thing before the woman could disappear behind the door._

 _"Since you got my name, what's yours, if you don't mind?"_

 _She turned back to him, thought for a moment, and answered._

 _"Dawson, and I suggest you eat if you think I haven't poisoned your food."_

 _And like that, she was gone._

 _Slade didn't know what to think of her, but right now, he needed to satisfy his undeniable hunger, so he decided to accept her hospitality until further notice._

(SCENE BREAK)

 _"So... what comes next for the legendary criminal mastermind?" Dawson asked, sitting cross-legged at the end of her dining table as she watched her unusual guest set his armor back on._

 _Slade paused for a second. "Quite a question, isn't it?"_

 _Truly it waswas. Was was he to do now?_

 _"I might just give myself a year to lay low." He shrugged. "Perhaps then, I'll regain enough stimulus to send a robot after some of my friends in the city just for fun."_

 _"And then?"_

 _Slade fell silent once more._

 _"Still figuring that part out, I'm guessing?"_

 _A week had passed since he was brought into the hospitality of this woman, hidden from the world in her admittedly nice home - - he was starting to find her quite amusing... but why?_

 _Stalling some more, he looked across the living room to a gallery of frames, one of which lured his great interest._

 _In this one frame that he strode over to, hanging amidst its smaller neighbours, was an old grainy photo of a pack of soldiers - - in the middle of the front row stood a little girl._

 _"Is this you?" Slade inquired._

 _Dawson got up from her chair to stand at his side._

 _She nodded, and then pointed to the soldier who was holding her. "And this is my father."_

 _"Was he a soldier?"_

 _She shook. "Just a mercenary hired to do wetwork." Her eyes glazed slightly, enough for Slade to notice. "I was his apprentice."_

 _Way to bring up more hellish memories, woman._

 _"We did whatever we could to survive, made plenty of enemies along the way... we had no home."_

 _"I'm guessing this didn't end too brightly."_

 _"He wanted to break free countless times, but deep down, he couldn't be anything else."_

 _Slade couldn't help but bow his head slightly. "I suppose you can't change who you are."_

 _Just as this Dawson woman nodded silently, Slade left her side and proceeded towards the front door._

 _"I'd say don't be a stranger, but I suppose you aren't cut out for that." She stated._

 _In a strange turn, Slade returned her an elusive smile before he donned his signature mask once more._

 _He exited the doorframe, the same criminal he was before, but now contaminated with uncharted thoughts._

 _"You were quite a spectacle, Dawson."_

 _With one last shared glance, he closed her door and was gone from this woman's life... for the time being._

 _Raven, having spectated this whole bizarre scene as nothing more than a ghost, was plunged out of the house._

 _As she warped through yet another void, her own mind got infested with infinite questions._

 _She knew somehow that this strange unassuming woman might have had something to do with Slade's motivation._

 _The only way she was going to solve this was to descend further into this rabbit hole._

 _Whatever she was going to find... she knew in her gut was going to turn out quite ugly._

 _But first, there was going to be this climb towards the light._

(TO BE CONTINUED)

 **Author's Note: Better late than never! Life was very hectic for me, but I wanted to gift you all with a New Year's gift with a new chapter. I hope you all liked this chapter. More of Slade's past will be explored, but for now, I want to keep you all guessing. Hopefully, I can get the next chapter done sooner, but I make no promises. Feel free to leave a comment.**


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